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V 


HINTS  ON  LANDSCAPE 
GARDENING 


J 


Plate  XXVII.  Cottages  in  the  Park  of  Muskau  with  the  Village  of  Kobeln  beyond  (page  165) 


Hints  on 

LANDSCAPE 

GARDENING 

By 

prince  \»on  ^ücfeler=JÄuöfeau 

Translated  by  BERNHARD  SICKERT 
and  Edited  by  SAMUEL  PARSONS 

WirH  ILLUSrRAriONS  AND  MAPS 

BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
Clje  Kiberßttic  Ipreßß  CambriUjc 
1917 

COPYRIGHT,  1917,  BY  HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Piihlished  June  iQiy 


Note 


This  volume,  which  furnishes  a natural  se- 
quence to  The  Art  of  Landscape  Gardenings 
by  Humphrey  Repton,  is  the  second  of  a series  of 
authoritative  books  to  be  published  by  Messrs. 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company.  The  series  was  un- 
dertaken at  the  suggestion  and  with  the  coop- 
eration of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects,  and  the  writer  has  been  asked  to  serve 
as  general  editor. 

Hermann  Ludwig  Heinrich  von  Piickler-Mus- 
kau  was  the  son  of  a Count,  a Privy  Councillor 
of  the  King  of  Saxony.  He  married  a lady  of 
rank,  the  daughter  of  the  Prince  Hardenburg, 
State  Chancellor,  and  one  of  the  great  statesmen 
of  the  age.  Born  in  1785  in  a palace  of  the  old 
town  of  Muskau  in  Silesia,  about  a hundred 
miles  from  Berlin,  he  died,  full  of  honors,  in 
1871.  Pie  occupied  during  his  long  career  many 
positions  of  importance  in  civil  and  military  affairs, 
and  traveled  widely  over  the  world  everywhere, 
including  a visit  to  the  United  States  and  years 
of  residence  in  England,  a country  he  loved. 

His  contribution  to  the  art  of  landscape  archi- 
tecture is  large  and  permanent.  It  expresses  itself 
in  his  interesting  published  letters  from  England, 
entitled  Lhe  Letters  of  a German  Prince,  in  his 
discussion  of  the  underlying  principles  of  land- 


Note 


scape  gardening,  and,  finally,  in  the  development 
of  the  great  estate  of  Muskau,  to  which  he  gave 
years  of  personal  attention.  His  letters  from  Eng- 
land, which  were  published  at  the  time  not  only 
in  German,  but  also  in  English  and  in  French, 
give  most  valuable  and  discriminating  criticism 
of  landscape  art,  with  descriptions  of  natural  and 
artificial  scenery.  He  refers  in  these  letters  to  a 
great  range  of  places,  including  Oxford,  Kenil- 
worth Castle,  Tintern  Abbey,  Regent’s  Park,  Lon- 
don, Eaton  Hall,  Warwick  Castle,  Blenheim, 
and  Buckingham  Palace.  Better  than  anything 
else  they  give  evidence  of  his  understanding  of 
the  art  of  landscape  architecture  during  one  of  its 
most  fruitful  periods.  Goethe  wrote  at  the  time 
that  Prince  Piickler’s  letters  were  a pattern  in  all 
that  relates  to  landscape  gardening,  and  “ be- 
long,” he  adds,  “ to  the  highest  class  of  litera- 
ture.” 

In  his  writings  Prince  Pückler  not  only  gives 
vivid  concrete  pictures  of  the  great  English  es- 
tates, he  also  points  out  repeatedly  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  art  of  landscape  gardening  which 
they  illustrate,  and  on  which  their  convenience, 
beauty,  and  perfection  depend. 

The  great  work  of  art,  however,  to  which  this 
talented  gentleman  and  greatest  of  amateur  land- 
scape gardeners  gave  the  best  years  of  his  life 
was  the  development  of  his  estate  at  Muskau.  It 
comprises  a beautiful  valley,  with  irregular  rising 
land  skirting  the  river  levels,  hills  supplying  the 
frame  for  his  picture.  He  treated  this  private  park 


Note 


with  variety  and  breadth,  and  secured  a splendid 
unity  of  effect.  In  the  words  of  the  late  Charles 
Eliot,  who  visited  the  estate  in  1886  to  study  it 
as  one  of  the  world’s  most  notable  examples  of 
landscape  architecture,  Piickler  evolved  “from 
out  of  the  confused  natural  situation  a composi- 
tion in  which  all  that  was  fundamentally  char- 
acteristic of  the  scenery,  the  history  and  industry 
of  his  estate  should  be  harmoniously  united.  . . . 
He  would  not  force  upon  his  native  landscape 
any  foreign  type  of  beauty;  on  the  contrary, 
his  aim  was  the  transfiguration,  the  idealization 
of  such  beauty  as  was  indigenous.”  Mr.  Samuel 
Parsons,  the  editor  of  the  present  volume,  refers 
to  Prince  Piickler’s  Hints  on  Muskau’s  develop- 
ment as  “ so  fundamental  and  comprehensive  that 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anything  better  of 
its  kind  in  landscape  gardening  literature.” 

Fürst  von  Pückler-Muskau  was  not  only  one 
of  the  best  interpreters  of  the  landscape  art  of  his 
time,  he  was  also  a prophet  of  city-planning. 
More  than  a hundred  years  ago  he  dwelt  upon 
the  necessity  for  natural  and  picturesque  beauty 
in  great  cities,  giving  as  an  example  the  open 
parks  and  irregular  streets  of  London. 

The  plates  and  other  illustrations  are  a notable 
part  of  this  volume.  They  include  not  only  all 
the  more  important  original  plates  and  repro- 
ductions of  plans  of  the  Muskau  Estate  before 
and  after  the  improvements  of  Prince  Pückler, 
but  also  examples  of  many  of  the  great  English 
country  places  which  are  referred  to  by  the  au- 


Note 


thor.  The  text  and  illustrations  combined  make 
a unique  contribution  to  the  limited  literature  of 
permanent  value  dealing  with  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening. 


Cambridge  June  ^ igij 


John  Nolen 


Contents 


Editor’s  Introduction 

Author’s  Introduction 

Part  First:  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 

Errata 

Page  46,  line  li  from  bottom:  For  Table  I read 

Plate  I. 

Page  126,  line  2:  For  Plate  XI  read  Plate  A. 

Page  133,  line  5 from  bottom  of  text:  For  Theorious 
read  Theoricus. 

Page  154,  line  ii  from  bottom:  For  Table  XVI  read 
Plate  XVI. 

Page  159,  line  12:  For  in  the  water,  and  (Plate  XX) 
read  in  the  water  (Plate  XX),  and. 

Page  165,  line  5 : For  Kobeln  read  Köbeln. 

Page  179,  lines  ii  and  12:  For  finished  on  the  map 
read  as  it  will  appear  when  completed. 


xi 

I 


Part  Second:  Description  of  the  Park  in 

Muskau  and  its  Origin  hi 


Index 


193 


Note 


thor.  The  text  and  illustrations  combined  make 
a unique  contribution  to  the  limited  literature  of 
permanent  value  dealing  with  the  art  of  landscape 
gardening. 


Cambridge  June  4 igi"] 


John  Nolen 


Contents 


Editor’s  Introduction  xi 

Author’s  Introduction  i 

Part  First:  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 
IN  General 

Chap.  I.  T^he  Laying-out  of  a Park  13 

Chap.  II.  Size  and  Extent  18 

Chap.  III.  Enclosure  25 

Chap.  IV.  Grouping  in  General^  and  Buildings  31 
Chap.  V.  Parks  and  Gardens  39 

Chap.  VI.  Concerningthe  Laying-out  of  the  Lawns 

of  Parks,  Meadows,  and  Gardens  48 

Chap.  VII.  Lrees  and  Shrubs  and  their  Grouping, 

and  Plantations  in  General  58 

Chap.  VIII.  Roads  and  Paths  80 

Chap.  IX.  Water  90 

Chap.  X.  Islands  96 

Chap.  XI.  Rocks  100 

Chap.  XII.  Earthworks  and  Esplanades  102 

Chap.  XIII.  Maintenance  105 

Part  Second:  Description  of  the  Park  in 

Muskau  and  its  Origin  hi 


Index 


193 


I 


\ 


Illustrations 


( The  numbered  plates  are  reproduced  from  the  Atlas  which  accompanied 
the  original  edition  of  the  Andeutungen  über  Landschaftsgärtnerei,  by 
Prince  von  Pückler-Muskau.  Some  of  the  original  plates  are  omitted  as 
of  less  interest  and  importance  than  those  reproduced,  but  Prince  Pückler' s 
references  to  all  the  plates  are  retained  in  the  text  for  the  sake  of  com- 
pleteness. ) 

Plate  XXVII.  Cottages  in  the  Park  of 
Moskau  with  the  Village  of  Köbeln  be- 
yond Frontispiece 

H ERMANN  Heinrich  Ludwig,  Prince  von 

Pückler-Muskau  x 

From  the  woodcut  frontispiece  in  E.  Petzold’s  Fürst 
Hermann  v.  Pückler-Muskau,  Leipzig,  1874. 

Magdalen  College,  Oxford:  The  Gravel 
Walk  from  the  West  in  1847 

From  a drawing  by  F.  Mackenzie  reproduced  in  The 
Old  Colleges  of  Oxford,  by  Aymer  Vallance,  London, 

1912. 

Kenilworth  Castle  xviii 

From  an  Engraving  by  William  Radclyffe  after  a draw- 
ing  by  J.  V.  Barber,  in  Kenilworth  Illustrated,  Chis- 
wick, 1821. 

Tintern  Abbey  xxii 

From  Fhe  Ruined  Abbeys  of  Britain,hy  Frederick  Ross. 

Eaton  Hall  xxvi 

From  an  old  print  reproduced  in  English  Houses  and 
Gardens  in  the  XV I It  h and  XVIIIth  Centuries,  by 
Mervyn  Macartney,  London,  1908. 


Illustrations 


viii 


Blenheim  Castle:  East  Facade  and  Formal 
Garden 

From  Country  Residences  in  Europe  and  America,  by 
Louis  Valcoulon  Le  Moyne,  New  York,  1908. 

View  of  the  Lake  at  Blenheim 

From  Country  Residences  in  Europe  and  America,  by 
Louis  Valcoulon  Le  Moyne. 

Haddon  Hall  and  the  River  Derwent 

From  Country  Residences  in  Europe  and  America,  by 
Louis  Valcoulon  Le  Moyne. 

Plate  I,  a and  b.  Grass  Paths  for  Boundary 
OF  Park 

Goethe’s  Garden  House  at  Weimar 

Redrawn  from  an  illustration  in  E.  Petzold’s  Landschafts- 
Gdrtnerei. 

Warwick  Castle 

From  an  engraving  by  J.  C.  Varrall  after  a drawing  by 
John  Preston  Neale,  in  Neale’s  Views  of  the  Seats  of 
Noilemen  and  Gentlemen  in  England,  Wales,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  London,  1818-29. 

Bird’s-Eye  View  of  Versailles 

From  Country  Residences  in  Europe  and  America,  by 
Louis  Valcoulon  Le  Moyne. 

Plate  II.  View  from  the  Front  of  the  Cas- 
tle AT  Muskau,  showing  Effect  of  the 
Removal  of  about  Twenty  Large  Trees 

A Vista  in  the  Park  of  Muskau 
From  a photograph  by  Thomas  W.  Sears. 

Windsor  Castle 

From  a mezzotint  by  T.  Sutherland  in  The  History  of  the 
Royal  Residences  of  Windsor  Castle,  by  W.  H.  Pyne, 
London,  1819. 


XXX 

xxxiv 

4 

28 

32 

36 

44 

60 

64 

70 


Illustrations 


IX 


Plate  IV,  e.  Border  Plantations  in  the  Old 

Style  72 

f.  Border  Plantations  after 

Nash’s  Method  72 

Plate  XLI II.  A Diagram  showing  Arrange- 
ment OF  Shrubs  and  Herbaceous  Plants  76 

Plate  V.  Arrangements  of  Roads  and  Paths  82 

Plate  VI.  Diagrams  showing  Arrangements 

OF  Rivers,  Lakes,  and  Islands  92 

Plate  VII.  A Diagram  showing  Different 

Arrangements  of  Islands  98 

Plate  VIII.  An  Artificial  Waterfall  with 

Rock  Dam  ioo 

Two  Views  of  the  Castle  and  Moat  at 

Muskau  132 

From  photographs  by  Thomas  W.  Sears. 

Plate  XV.  View  of  the  Castle,  showing 
Steps  with  Orange  Trees  and  the  Old 
Castle  152 

A View  of  the  River  as  arranged  and  im- 
proved BY  Prince  Pückler  in  his  Park  at 
Muskau  152 

Redrawn  from  an  old  print. 

A Rough  Stone  Bridge  in  the  Park  of 

Muskau  156 

From  a photograph  by  Thomas  W.  Sears. 

Plate XVIII.  Viewof Meadow,Trees, River, 

AND  Hills  158 

Plate  XIX.  Another  View  of  the  Castle 
AND  Lawn  158 


X 


Illustrations 


Plate  XX.  View  of  Old  and  New  Castles 

AND  Lake  Lucie  i6o 

Plate  XXL  The  Pheasantry,  with  the  Post- 

Bridge  OVER  THE  River  beyond  i6o 

Plate  XXIV.  The  “Prince”  Bridge  over 

A Ravine  162 

Plate  XXV.  Bridge  made  of  Oak  Branches  164 

Plate  XXVI.  English  Cottage  in  the  Park  166 

Plate  XXVIII.  Proposed  Cemetery  Chapel  168 

Plate  XXX.  River  and  Mill  174 

Plate  XXXIX.  The  Gobelin  Colony:  Cot- 
tages OF  THE  Garden  Laborers  184 

Plate  XL.  View  from  the  Wussina  Deer 

Park,  Muskau  186 

Plate  XLI.  Spruce  Tree  One  Hundred  Feet 

High  188 

Plate  XLII.  Oak  Eighty-Five  Feet  High  188 

Plate  XLIV.  Cottage  near  the  Hunting 

Castle  190 

Plan  A.  The  Grounds  of  Muskau  before 

THE  Improvements  were  begun  In  Pocket 

Plan  B.  The  Park  of  Muskau  with  the  Im- 
provements MADE  OR  PROJECTED  BY  PrINCE 
PÜCKLER  In  Pocket 


I 


Hermann  Heinrich  Ludwig,  Prince  von  Piickler-Muskau 


■S': 


- v 's.<'. '■ 

s“  Y ■' 


Editor’s  Introduction 


Hermann  ludwig  Heinrich, 

Prince  von  Piickler-Muskau,  stood  in  the 
first  rank  of  landscape  gardeners  in  his  day  and 
generation,  largely  because  of  the  time  and 
place  in  which  the  stage  for  his  career  was  set. 
His  endowments  were  remarkable,  but  his  op- 
portunities were  unique.  He  was  the  son  of  an 
ancient  house  in  Silesia,  or  Lusatia,  as  it  was  for- 
merly called,  whose  authority  on  the  great  ances- 
tral estates  was  supreme.  Tradition  and  aristocratic 
power  gave  the  prestige  of  the  house  a peculiar 
value.  The  despotic  power  of  the  highly  placed 
land-owners  of  Germany  had  not  as  yet  changed 
in  spirit  from  that  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In 
the  world  of  thought  there  had  been  an  awaken- 
ing. Goethe  reigned  in  literature  without  a rival 
in  Europe  and  Schiller  was  a poetical  inspiration 
for  all  Germany. 

Piickler,  the  son  of  a Count  and  Privy  Coun- 
selor of  the  King  of  Saxony,  was  born  in  the 
palace  of  his  race  in  Muskau,  a town  older  than 
the  Roman  occupation,  where  his  forbears  had 
ruled  for  a thousand  years.  In  1785,  the  year 
of  his  birth,  the  French  Revolution  was  not  as 
yet.  New  ideas,  however,  were  in  the  air,  and 
Voltaire  and  Rousseau  had  succeeded  in  pro- 
foundly modifying  the  spirit  of  the  age.  Yet  the 


xn 


Editor’s  Introduction 


age  still  retained  much  of  the  time  of  Mme.  de 
Sevigne,  a century  before,  when  her  letters  were 
circulated  in  the  salons  of  the  chateaux  of  France, 
letters  that  forgot  even  to  mention  the  fact  that 
outside  of  the  windows,  in  near-by  fields,  soldiers 
were  slaughtering  starving  peasants,  their  coun- 
trymen. 

Piickler,  the  boy,  spent  four  years  when  he 
was  seven  with  the  Moravians  in  their  Herrnhut 
School  at  Uhyst,  in  the  Pedagogium  at  Halle, 
and  then,  after  studying  with  a tutor  for  some 
years,  he  entered  the  University  of  Leipsic  in 
1800.  Here,  he  took  a general  course,  specializ- 
ing in  law.  Soon,  however,  he  gave  up  law  and 
chose  a military  career  as  better  suited  to  his  en- 
terprising spirit.  He  came  to  excel  in  physical 
accomplishments  and  was  a daring  and  skillful 
horseman.  Tales  of  a combat  come  to  us,  where 
he,  a champion,  met  and  vanquished  a French 
rival,  in  the  presence  and  amid  the  plaudits  of 
the  assembled  armies  of  both  sides.  These  and 
other  stories  serve  to  indicate  to  us  his  reckless 
daring  and  energy.  Later,  Piickler  proved  him- 
self a skillful  and  experienced  officer  at  Antwerp 
under  Billow.  Afterwards,  under  Geismar,  he 
was  at  the  assault  and  taking  of  Cassel,  where  he 
helped  to  capture  several  cannon.  He  received 
many  decorations  for  brilliant  services  and  was 
made  a colonel.  Later,  he  raised  a regiment  of 
chasseurs  and  afterwards  commanded  at  Bruges 
as  civil  and  military  governor.  In  1814,  when 
the  Allied  Armies  entered  Paris,  he  was  sent  by 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xiii 


the  Duke  of  Saxe-Weimar  as  special  ambassador 
to  the  Emperor  Alexander.  Soon  after  this  he 
visited  England  a second  time,  spending  a year 
in  that  country. 

During  the  years  from  i8i6  to  1822  Pückler 
occupied  himself  with  many  things.  He  traveled 
everywhere  — on  the  European  Continent;  in 
Africa,  in  Algeria,  and  Egypt  and  other  places ; 
in  Asia  and  America,  making  notes  as  he  traveled 
and  afterwards  writing  books.  His  adventures 
even  took  the  form  of  ascending  in  a balloon 
with  a celebrated  aeronaut,  a great  feat  in  those 
days.  During  this  period  came  the  death  of  his 
father  with  whom  he  seems  to  have  lived  on  good 
terms  except  for  the  usual  disagreements  which 
extravagant  sons  have  with  most  fathers.  Doubt- 
less, he  was  many  times  during  his  travels  so  short 
of  funds  as  to  be  almost  in  dire  want,  but  hav- 
ing been  bred  a soldier  and  being  of  a high,  free 
spirit  it  is  not  likely  that  any  shortage  of  funds 
seriously  troubled  him. 

He  finally  married  a lady  of  rank,  the  Count- 
ess Pappenheim,  widow  of  the  Count  of  the 
same  name  and  daughter  of  the  Prince  Harden- 
burg, State  Chancellor  and  one  of  the  great  states- 
men of  the  age.  We  find  Pückler  at  this  period 
of  his  career  enjoying  much  society  in  the  gay, 
as  well  as  in  the  diplomatic,  world.  In  1818,  for 
instance,  he  accompanied  his  wife  and  father-in- 
law  to  the  Congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Later 
he  was  offered  an  ambassadorship  to  Constanti- 
nople and  other  high  state  employments.  He, 


XIV 


Editor’s  Introduction 


however,  refused  them  all,  and  sought  his  very 
considerable  estates  inherited  from  his  father. 
In  the  course  of  the  settlement  of  certain  bound- 
ary and  feudal  rights,  the  Prussian  Government 
decided  to  give  Pückler  the  title  of  Prince  and  a 
considerable  sum  of  money. 

For  the  better  part  of  ten  years  he  devoted 
himself  to  carrying  out  his  great  plans  for  his 
estates,  even  importing  American  trees  for  which 
he  had  conceived  an  admiration  during  a visit 
he  had  paid  to  the  United  States.  Eventually, 
however,  he  found  his  funds  so  much  exhausted 
that  about  1828  he  bethought  himself  of  mak- 
ing a journey  again  to  England  with  an  idea  of 
bettering  his  fortunes  in  some  mysterious,  whim- 
sical way,  but  chiefly,  it  may  be  surmised,  be- 
cause he  loved  England  and  travel.  During  this 
trip  in  1828  his  travels  extended  over  England 
and  Ireland,  and  resulted  in  the  instructive  and 
witty  letters  afterward  published  in  Stuttgart 
under  the  name  of  Briefe  eines  Gestorben  (“Letters 
of  a Deceased  Person”).  They  were  translated 
into  English  under  the  name  ‘Tour  of  a German 
Prince,  etc.,  etc.  These  letters  became  celebrated, 
indeed  so  much  so  that  Goethe  wrote  at  the  time 
in  the  Berliner  Buch  that  Piickler’s  letters  had 
been  long  a pattern  in  all  that  relates  to  land- 
scape gardening.  Goethe  says,  these  letters  “ be- 
long to  the  highest  class  of  literature.”  As  litera- 
ture they  certainly  take  high  rank  both  for  their 
fine  and  true  conception  of  landscape  gardening 
principles  and  for  their  descriptions  of  scenery. 


Magdalen  College,  Oxford 
The  Gravel  Walk  from  the  West  in  1847 


/ 


V., 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XV 


They  possessed,  moreover,  a charm  and  wit  that 
recalled  the  touch  of  the  incomparable  letter- 
writers  of  the  eighteenth  century : a century  of 
which  Prince  Piickler  was  a product  in  certain 
singular  ways;  truly  a grand  seigneur  with  all  his 
large  and  modern  ideas ; a soldier,  a patriot,  a 
philosopher,  and  a humanitarian ; verily  a land- 
scape gardener  of  a most  unique  type!  He  came 
back  to  Germany  from  England  no  richer  except 
in  literary  fame.  From  that  time  the  major  part 
of  his  attention  was  given  to  the  development  of 
his  estates  and  to  the  elaboration  of  his  notes  and 
maps  which  later  he  published  in  the  form  of  the 
present  book. 

Traveling  he  naturally  could  not  forego,  and  his 
advice,  moreover,  was  sought  from  time  to  time 
for  the  improvement  of  great  estates  throughout 
Europe  from  the  Royal  Park  at  Babelsburgh, 
near  Potsdam,  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  in  Paris. 
In  1 845  he  had  largely  developed  his  estates  at 
Muskau,  as  may  be  seen  to-day,  but  he  had  like- 
wise so  completely  exhausted  his  means  that  he 
was  at  last  forced  to  sell  his  beloved  ancestral  home 
to  Frederick  of  the  Netherlands  and  retire  to 
Braunitz,  a smaller  estate  at  some  distance  away. 
It  is  said  that  so  bitter  was  his  disappointment 
at  leaving  Muskau,  that  although  he  lived  more 
than  thirty  years  afterward  he  never  again  visited 
his  old  home.  During  these  thirty  years  he  con- 
tinued to  improve  Braunitz,  to  write,  and  to 
travel,  and  to  take  part  in  most  of  the  great  events 
of  the  day.  In  1863  he  was  made  a member  of 


XVI 


Editor’s  Introduction 


the  Prussian  House  of  Lords  (Herrenhaus),  and  in 
1866,  when  eighty-one  years  old,  he  attended 
the  Prussian  General  Staff  in  the  war  with  Austria. 
In  1871  he  died  full  of  honors,  and  with  the 
consciousness,  in  spite  of  many  failures  and  poign- 
ant disappointments,  of  having  made  for  himself 
a great  career.  The  reason  for  thus  dwelling  at 
length  on  the  career  of  Prince  Pückler  is  because 
it  goes  far  to  explain  why  he  became  exactly  the 
sort  of  landscape  architect  he  was.  Yet  it  was  not, 
altogether,  the  character  of  his  ancestors,  his  en- 
vironment, nor  his  upbringing  that  accounted  for 
Prince  Pückler.  He  had,  fortunately  for  him, 
just  the  background  and  stage-setting  that  would 
enable  him  to  grace  the  part  that  circumstances 
and  personal  taste  called  on  him  to  fill : but  there 
was  a certain  fire  of  genius  in  the  man  Pückler 
that  was  sui  generis y something  of  his  very  own. 
Like  all  geniuses  he  was  of  his  age,  and  yet  not 
of  his  age.  No  other  landscape  architect  ever 
resembled  him,  or  perhaps  equaled  him,  if  his 
accomplishments  and  work  are  duly  weighed. 
He  was  born  and  brought  up,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, in  the  eighteenth  century,  imbibed  its 
charm  in  his  early  days  and  kept  all  his  life  in 
his  words  and  bearing  something  of  its  savor. 
He  could  not  help  being,  as  shown  by  his  letters, 
a delightful  companion  and  the  old-time  gentle- 
man. As  the  years  passed,  however,  and  he 
breathed  the  air  of  the  new  century,  he  naturally 
became  inspired  by  its  humanitarian  ideas  and 
its  broader  vision.  He  could  not  help  belonging 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xvii 


to  the  romantic  school.  It  was  in  his  blood : it 
developed  in  his  philosophy  and  in  his  art  and 
kindled  into  vivid  life  whatever  he  said,  wrote, 
and  did.  All  his  wild  adventures  and  strange 
visions  and  dreams,  his  love  of  Nature,  his  vague, 
humanitarian  schemes,  even  his  somewhat  high- 
flown  sentiments,  expressed  on  all  sorts  of  topics, 
mark  him  as  a type  of  the  romantic  artist.  He 
could,  however,  paint  life  with  a broad  and  flow- 
ing brush  and  at  the  same  time  with  a simplicity 
that  explained  perhaps  why  he  was  so  keen  and 
appreciative  an  admirer  of  Mme.  de  Sevigne,  little 
as  she  had  in  common  with  the  romantic  school. 
For  simplicity  as  well  as  romantic  fervor  what 
can  be  better  than  the  following  passage  found 
in  one  of  his  letters  where  he  speaks  of  a lovely 
lady  dwelling  obscurely  in  poverty  in  a remote 
part  of  Ireland  : — 

I wish  I could  describe  this  sweet  and  lovely  being 
to  you  in  such  a manner  as  to  place  her  visibly  before 
you,  certain  that  you,  like  me,  would  love  her  at  first 
glance.  But  I feel  that  all  description  falls  short.  All 
about  her  is  heart  and  soul.  She  was  dressed  in  black 
with  greatest  simplicity,  her  dress  was  up  to  the  neck 
but  fitting  close  to  her  beautiful  form.  Her  person  is 
slender  and  extremely  youthful,  full  of  gentle  grace,  and 
not  without  animation  and  fire  in  her  movements. 
Her  complexion  is  of  a pure  clear  brown  and  has  the 
soft  polish  of  marble.  M ore  beautiful  and  brilliant  black 
eyes,  or  teeth  of  more  dazzling  whiteness  I have  never 
beheld.  Her  mouth,  too,  with  the  angelic,  childlike  char- 
acter of  her  smile,  is  enchanting.  Her  refined,  unaffected 
good  breeding,  the  sportive  grace  of  her  gay  and  witty 
conversation  were  of  that  rare  sort  which  are  innate,  and 


XVlll 


Editor’s  Introduction 


must  therefore  please,  whether  in  Paris  or  Pekin,  in 
town  or  country.  The  greatest  experience  of  society 
could  hot  give  more  ease  and  address,  and  no  girl  of 
fifteen  could  blush  more  sweetly  or  jest  more  joyously, 
and  yet  her  life  had  been  the  most  simple  and  uniform, 
and  her  youth  was  rather  the  unfading  youth  of  the 
soul  than  that  of  the  body,  for  she  was  the  mother  of 
four  children,  nearly  thirty,  and  just  recovered  from  an 
attack  of  the  lungs  which  had  threatened  to  prove  fatal. 
But  the  fire  of  all  her  movements,  the  lightning  flashes 
of  her  conversation,  had  all  the  freshness  and  all  the 
charm  of  youth,  giving  a resistless  loveliness  to  the 
gentleness  of  her  nature. 

Here  is,  doubtless,  a somewhat  exaggerated 
picture  of  his  imagination.  An  attractive  woman 
there  was,  but  not  just  such  a woman  as  he  de- 
picts her.  Inspired,  possibly,  by  some  stray  mem- 
ory of  Byron’s  verses  which  he  greatly  admired, 
in  any  case,  transfusing  a homely  incident  of  his 
travels  with  the  glow  of  his  imagination,  he 
simply  did  what  he  was  always  doing  with  his 
landscape  architecture,  and  often  afterwards  in 
other  ways  in  the  changeful  phases  of  his  varied 
life. 

Pückler’s  career  in  England  was  quite  typical 
of  the  man;  going  to  that  country  to  recuper- 
ate his  fortunes  in  some  mysterious  way,  he  trav- 
eled like  a grand  seigneur  in  the  most  expensive 
manner;  then,  when  funds  were  short  or  carriage 
lacking,  on  horseback  or  even  on  foot.  His  lit- 
erary imagination  found  vent  at  this  time  in  let- 
ters to  his  divorced  wife,  and,  strange  to  say, 
then  and  afterwards  his  beloved  companion  and 


Kenilworth  Castle 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XIX 


confidante.  These  letters  are  truly  models  of  epis- 
tolary genius.  Their  descriptions  of  scenery  are 
especially  fine,  and  one  needs,  fully  to  realize  the 
greatness  of  his  literary  power,  to  comprehend 
Pückler’s  peculiar  value  as  a landscape  architect. 
Here  is  one  of  his  descriptions:  — 

On  two  sides  the  eye  wanders  over  an  almost  im- 
measurable plain,  on  the  other,  lies  Loch  Corrib,  a 
lake,  thirty  miles  in  length,  behind  which  are  the  moun- 
tains of  Clare  and  in  still  remoter  distance  the  romantic 
ridge  of  Connemara.  The  lake  just  at  the  middle  bends 
inland  like  a river,  and  its  waters  gradually  lose  them- 
selves between  the  lofty  mountains  which  seem  to  form 
a gateway  for  their  entrance.  Just  at  this  point  the  sun 
set:  and  Nature  which  often  rewards  my  love  for  her, 
displayed  one  of  her  most  wondrous  spectacles.  Black 
clouds  hung  over  the  mountains  and  the  whole  heavens 
were  overcast;  only  just  at  this  point,  the  sun  looked 
out  from  beneath  the  dusky  veil  and  issued  a stream 
of  light  which  filled  the  whole  ravine  with  a sort  of  un- 
earthly splendor.  The  lake  glittered  beneath  it  like 
molten  brass,  while  the  mountains  had  a transparent 
steel-blue  luster  like  the  gleam  of  diamonds.  Single 
streaks  of  rose-colored  cloud  passed  slowly  across  the 
illuminated  picture  over  the  mountains;  while  on  both 
sides  of  the  opened  heavens  distant  rain  fell  in  torrents, 
and  formed  a curtain  which  shut  out  every  glimpse  of 
the  remaining  world.  Such  is  the  magnificence  which 
Nature  has  reserved  for  herself  alone,  and  which  even 
Claude’s  pencil  could  never  imitate. 

These  lines  purport  to  give  simply  a descrip- 
tion of  Nature,  but  at  the  very  end  Piickler  can- 
not help  writing  as  a landscape  architect,  which 
is  primarily  his  true  vocation. 


XX 


Editor’s  Introduction 


There  are  many  fine  descriptions  of  Nature  in 
the  letters  of  Piickler,  and  it  might  be  well  to 
quote  one  more  as  a further  illustration  of  the 
distinction  of  his  purely  literary  work:  — 

Turn  your  imagination  to  a spot  of  ground  so  com- 
mandingly  placed  that  from  its  highest  point  you  can 
let  your  eye  wander  over  fifteen  counties.  Three  sides 
of  this  vast  panorama  rise  and  fall  in  constant  change 
of  hill  and  dale  like  the  waves  of  an  agitated  sea,  and 
are  bounded  at  the  horizon  by  a strangely  formed 
jagged  outline  of  the  Welsh  Mountains,  which  at  either 
end  ascend  to  a fertile  plain,  shaded  by  thousands  of 
lofty  trees,  and  in  the  obscure  distance,  where  it  blends 
with  the  sky,  is  edged  with  a white  misty  line  — the 
ocean. 

The  peculiarity  of  such  a description  is  not 
only  its  eloquence  and  poetical  expression,  but 
its  real  value  lies  in  its  landscape  conception. 
Probably  no  other  man  of  Pückler’s  time  could 
have  brought  together,  in  a single  picture,  just  the 
right  elements,  and  grouped  them  in  such  a way 
as  to  set  before  one  a great  landscape  scene  in  so 
fine  a manner.  It  is  a case,  as  may  be  seen  over 
and  over  again  in  reading  Pückler’s  letters,  of  a 
landscape  architect  developing  a great  landscape 
and  transfusing  it  with  the  vivifying  glow  of  his 
own  trained  imagination.  In  other  words,  Pückler 
knew  just  what  to  select  from  the  landscape  to 
present  its  truest  and  most  valuable  character. 

Prince  Pückler  was,  however,  a good  deal 
more  than  a lover  of  Nature  in  her  higher  moods 
and  a skillful  artist  in  creating  effects  akin  to 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XXI 


Nature’s  best  efforts:  he  was  a great  gentleman 
with  forbears  of  a thousand  years ; he  was  a sol- 
dier and  an  economist  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  his  peasant  laborers  and  German  countrymen. 
Hardly  ever  had  the  interests  of  one  man  ex- 
tended so  widely;  certainly  those  of  no  landscape 
architect.  To  show  the  diversity  of  his  interests 
I will  quote  a passage  about  Oxford : — 

I have  walked  over  Oxford  and  I cannot  express 
with  what  intense  delight  I wandered  from  cloister  to 
cloister,  and  refreshed  myself  in  this  living  spring  of 
antiquity.  There  is  a magnificent  avenue  of  elms  which 
like  the  buildings  date  from  the  year  1520.  From  this 
queen  of  avenues  in  which  not  a single  tree  was  want- 
ing, and  which  leads  through  a meadow  to  the  river, 
you  see  on  one  side  a charming  landscape,  and  on  the 
other  a part  of  the  city  with  five  or  six  of  the  most 
beautiful  Gothic  towers  — ever  a noble  view,  but  to- 
day rendered  almost  like  a piece  of  fairy  enchantment; 
the  sky  was  overcast,  the  wind  drove  the  black,  fan- 
tastic clouds  like  a herd  of  wild  beasts  across  it : at 
length  the  most  beautiful  rainbow  vaulting  from  one 
tower  and  descending  on  another,  spanned  the  whole 
city. 

Read  this  weird  and  soul-stirring  description 
of  Kenilworth  Castle:  — 

The  day  was  gloomy,  black  clouds  rolled  across  the 
heavens,  and  occasionally  a yellow,  tawny  light  broke 
from  between  them,  the  wind  whistled  from  among  the 
ivy,  and  piped  shrillv  through  the  vacant  windows. 
Now  and  then  a stone  loosened  itself  from  the  crum- 
bling buildings  and  rolled  clattering  down  the  outer 
wall.  Not  a human  being  was  to  be  seen;  all  was  soli- 


XXll 


Editor’s  Introduction 


tary  and  awful ; a gloomy  but  sublime  memorial  of  de- 
struction. 

There  is  more  than  the  suggestion  of  mysti- 
cism in  this  passage,  but  here  is  the  real  thing : — 

I entreat  you  [he  writes  to  a dear  friend] , be  with  me 
at  least  in  thought,  and  let  our  spirits  journey  together 
over  sea  and  land  and  look  down  from  the  summit  of 
mountains  and  enjoy  the  sweet  repose  of  valleys,  for  I 
doubt  not  that  spirits,  in  forms  as  infinitely  various  as 
infinity  itself  is  boundless,  rejoice  throughout  all  worlds 
in  the  beauty  of  God’s  magnificent  creation. 

A mystic  Piickler  always  was  and  always  re- 
mained. He  was  always  dreaming  and  seeing 
visions.  There  was  a touch  of  madness  in  some  of 
his  strange  fancies.  The  reader  of  his  book  will 
remember  the  lake  he  designed  which  was  to 
rear  above  the  surface  of  its  waters  funereal  me- 
morials ; i.e.,  rocks  inscribed  with  names  intended 
to  commemorate  his  ancestors  interspersed  and 
surrounded  by  weeping  willows. 

For  magnificence  of  description  and  grandeur 
of  outlook,  all  transfused  with  the  magic  of  his 
imagination,  it  would  be  hard  to  find  anything 
better  of  its  kind  than  the  following  description 
of  Warwick  Castle  which,  on  account  of  its 
length,  is  given  only  in  part : — 

Let  your  fancy  conjure  up  a space  about  twice  as 
large  as  the  Colosseum  at  Rome,  and  let  it  transport 
you  into  a forest  of  romantic  luxuriance.  You  now 
overlook  the  large  court  surrounded  by  mossy  trees 
and  large  buildings,  which,  though  of  every  variety  of 
form,  combine  to  create  one  sublime  and  connected 


‘.J'iUP- 


T?T>Trni?'£yj 


Tintern  Abbey 


Editor’s  Introduction  xxiii 


whole,  whose  lines  now  shooting  upward,  now  falling 
off  into  the  blue  air  with  the  continually  changing  beauty 
of  the  green  earth  beneath,  produce,  not  symmetry  in- 
deed, but  the  higher  harmony  elsewhere  proper  to  Na- 
ture’s work  alone.  The  first  glance  at  your  feet  rests  on  a 
broad,  simple  carpet  of  turf  around  which  a softly  wind- 
ing gravel  walk  leads  to  the  entrance  and  exit  of  the  gi- 
gantic edifice.  Look  backward  and  your  eye  rests  on  the 
two  black  towers  of  which  the  oldest,  called  Guy’s  T ower, 
rears  its  head  aloft  in  solitary  threatening  majesty  high 
above  all  the  surrounding  foliage,  and  looks  as  if  cast  in 
one  mass  of  solid  iron ; the  other  built  by  Beauchamp  is 
half  hidden  by  a pine  and  chestnut,  the  noble  growth 
of  centuries.  Broad-leaved  ivy  and  vines  climb  along  the 
walls,  here  twining  around  the  tower,  there  shooting  to 
its  very  summit.  On  your  left  lies  the  inhabited  part 
of  the  Castle  and  the  chapel  ornamented  with  many 
lofty  windows  of  various  size  and  form,  while  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  vast  quadrangle,  almost  entirely  with- 
out windows,  presents  only  a mighty  mass  of  embattled 
stone,  broken  by  a few  larches  of  colossal  height,  and 
huge  arbutuses  which  have  grown  to  a surprising  size 
in  the  shelter  they  have  long  enjoyed.  But  the  sublim- 
est  spectacle  yet  awaits  you.  On  the  fourth  side,  the 
ground,  which  has  sunk  into  a low,  bushy  basin  form- 
ing the  court,  and  with  the  buildings  also  descending  for 
a considerable  space,  rises  again  in  the  form  of  a steep, 
conical  hill  along  the  sides  of  which  climbs  the  rugged 
walls  of  the  castle.  This  hill  and  the  keep  which  crowns 
it  are  thickly  overgrown  at  the  top  with  underwood, 
which  only  creeps  round  the  foot  of  the  tower  and  walls. 
Behind  it,  however,  rise  gigantic  venerable  trees  tower- 
ing above  all  the  rocklike  structure.  Their  bare  stems 
seem  to  float  in  midair,  while  at  the  very  summit  of 
the  building  rises  a daring  bridge,  set,  as  it  were,  on 
either  side  with  trees,  and  as  the  clouds  drift  across  the 
blue  sky,  the  broadest,  most  brilliant  masses  of  light 


XXIV 


Editor’s  Introduction 


break  magically  from  under  the  towering  arch  and  the 
dark  crown  of  trees. 

Prince  Piickler’s  description  of  Tintern  Ab- 
bey— Wordsworth’s  Tintern  Abbey — should 
not  be  passed  by : it  is  so  fine : — 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a more  favorable 
situation  or  a more  sublime  ruin.  The  entrance  to  it 
seems  as  if  contrived  by  the  hand  of  some  skillful  scene 
painter  to  produce  the  most  striking  effect.  The  church, 
which  is  large,  is  still  almost  perfect;  the  roof  alone  and 
some  of  the  pillars  are  wanting.  The  ruins  have  received 
just  that  degree  of  care  which  is  consistent  with  the  full 
preservation  of  their  character.  All  unpicturesque  rub- 
bish that  would  obstruct  the  view  is  removed  without 
any  attempt  at  repair  or  embellishment.  A beautiful 
smooth  turf  covers  the  ground  and  luxuriant  creeping 
plants  grow  amid  the  stones.  The  fallen  ornaments  are 
laid  in  a picturesque  confusion  and  a perfect  avenue  of 
thick  ivy  stems  climb  up  the  pillars  and  form  a roof 
over  head.  The  better  to  secure  the  ruin,  a new  gate 
of  antique  workmanship  is  put  up.  When  this  is  sud- 
denly opened  the  effect  is  striking  and  surprising.  You, 
at  once,  look  down  the  avenue  of  ivy  clad  pillars  and 
see  the  grand  perspective  lines  closed  at  the  distance  of 
three  hundred  feet  by  a magnificent  window  eighty  feet 
high  and  thirty  feet  broad:  through  its  intricate  and 
beautiful  tracery  you  see  a wooded  mountain  from  whose 
sides  project  abrupt  masses  of  rock. 

When  it  comes  to  landscape  gardening  criti- 
cism, we  find  all  through  his  letters  passages  that 
abundantly  prove  that  his  mind  was  continually 
occupied  in  studying  his  art  wherever  he  traveled. 
Here  is  a bit  on  city  planning  and  the  landscape 
connected  with  it  which  might  have  been  written 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XXV 


by  some  of  the  best  authorities  of  the  present 
day:  — 

Faultless  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  landscape  garden- 
ing part  of  the  park  [Regent’s],  which  also  originated 
with  Mr.  Nash,  especially  in  the  disposition  of  the 
water.  Art  has  here  completely  solved  the  difficult  prob- 
lem of  concealing  her  operations  under  the  appearance 
of  unrestrained  nature.  You  imagine  you  see  a broad 
river  flowing  on  through  luxuriant  banks,  and  going 
off  in  the  distance  in  several  arms,  while  in  fact  you  are 
looking  upon  a small  piece  of  standing  though  clear 
water  created  by  art  and  labor.  So  beautiful  a landscape 
as  this  with  hills  in  the  distance,  surrounded  by  an  en- 
closure of  magnificent  houses,  a league  in  circuit,  is  cer- 
tainly a design  worthy  of  one  of  the  greatest  capitals  in 
the  world,  and  when  the  young  trees  are  grown  into 
majestic  giants  will  scarcely  find  a rival.  In  the  execu- 
tion of  Mr.  Nash’s  plan  many  old  streets  have  been 
pulled  down,  and  during  the  last  ten  years  more  than 
sixty  thousand  houses  built  in  this  part  of  the  town. 
It  is,  in  my  opinion,  a peculiar  beauty  of  these  new 
streets,  that,  though  broad,  they  do  not  run  in  straight 
lines,  but  make  occasional  curves  which  break  the  uni- 
formity. 

It  is  interesting  to  follow  the  working  of 
Piickler’s  mind  as  he  studies  his  subject,  how  the 
principles  of  his  art  were  formulating  themselves 
in  his  mind  to  be  afterwards  realized  and  actually 
executed  on  his  own  place  at  Muskau  where  the 
result  can  be  seen  to-day.  Here  is  some  keen 
criticism  of  English  scenery:  — 

The  beauty  of  the  country  and  the  extraordinary 
neatness  and  elegance  of  every  place  through  which  my 
road  lay  to-day  struck  me  in  a most  agreeable  manner 


XXVI 


Editor’s  Introduction 


. . . the  picture  has  but  one  fault  — it  is  all  too  culti- 
vated, too  perfect,  thence  always  and  everywhere  the 
same,  and  consequently,  in  the  long  run  wearisome. 
Indeed,  I can  even  conceive  that  it  must  become  distaste- 
ful in  time,  like  the  savory  dish  of  dainties  to  the  stom- 
ach of  a sated  man. 

That  Prince  Pückler  did  not  hesitate  to  criti- 
cize the  celebrated  estates  in  England  is  indicated 
by  the  following  passage : — 

We  have  hastened  to  see  the  wonders  of  Eaton  Hall, 
of  which,  however,  my  expectations  have  not  been  very 
high.  Moderate  as  they  were  they  have  been  scarcely 
realized.  The  parks  and  gardens  were,  to  my  taste, 
the  most  unmeaning  of  any  of  their  class  I had  seen, 
although  of  vast  extent. 

On  the  other  hand,  here  is  a description  in 
another  of  Pückler ’ß  letters  of  what  he  considers 
an  ideal  park  or  country  estate : — 

Mr.  W.’s  park  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  perfect 
creations  of  that  kind  and  owes  its  existence  entirely  to 
his  perseverance  and  good  taste.  It  is  true  that  he  could 
nowhere  have  found  a spot  on  earth  more  grateful  for 
his  labors,  but  it  seldom  happens  that  art  and  nature 
so  cordially  unite.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  former 
is  perceptible  only  in  the  most  perfect  harmony  ; other- 
wise it  appears  to  vanish  into  pure  nature,  — not  a tree 
or  a bush  seems  planted  by  design.  The  vast  resources 
of  distant  prospect  are  wisely  husbanded ; they  come 
upon  the  eye  by  degrees  and  as  if  unavoidably ; every 
path  is  cut  in  a direction  which  seems  the  only  one  it 
could  take  without  constraint  and  artifice;  the  most 
enchanting  effects  of  woods  and  plantations  are  pro- 
duced by  skillful  management,  by  contrast  of  masses, 
by  felling  some,  and  thinning  others,  clearing  off  and 


Sr  Thomas  Grosvenor  Baronet  ’ 


t 


Editor’s  Introduction  xxvii 


keeping  down  branches,  so  that  the  eye  is  attracted, 
now  into  the  depth  of  the  wood,  now  above,  now  be- 
low the  boughs,  and  every  possible  variety  within  the 
region  of  the  beautiful  presented.  This  beauty  is  never 
displayed  naked,  but  always  sufficiently  veiled  to  leave 
the  requisite  play  for  the  imagination  ; for  a perfect  park 
— in  other  words,  a tract  of  country  idealized  by  art — 
should  be  like  a good  book,  which  suggests  at  least  as 
many  new  thoughts  and  feelings  as  it  expresses.  The 
dwelling-house  is  not  visible  till  you  reach  an  opposite 
height;  it  then  suddenly  emerges  from  the  mass  of  the 
wood,  its  outline  broken  by  scattered  trees  and  groups, 
and  its  walls  garlanded  with  ivy,  roses,  and  creeping 
plants.  It  was  built  after  the  plan  of  the  possessor,  in 
a style  not  so  much  Gothic  as  antiquely  picturesque, 
such  as  a delicate  feeling  for  the  suitable  and  harmo- 
nious conceived  to  be  in  keeping  with  the  surround- 
ing scenery.  The  gardens  lay  in  all  their  indescribable 
glow,  of  beauty  in  a narrow  and  fertile  valley  full  of  high 
trees  under  which  three  silver  springs  gush  forth,  and 
flowing  away  in  meandering  brooks  took  their  course 
in  all  directions  amid  impervious  thickets  of  blooming 
rhododendrons  and  azaleas. 

Of  Chiswick,  Piickler  has  the  following  per- 
tinent criticism  to  make  : — 

I found  the  garden  much  altered,  but  not,  I think, 
for  the  better ; for  there  is  a mixture  of  the  regular 
and  irregular  which  has  a most  unpleasant  effect.  The 
ugly  fashion  now  prevalent  in  England  of  planting  the 
pleasure-ground  with  single  trees  and  shrubs,  placed  at 
a considerable  distance  apart  almost  in  rows,  has  been 
introduced  in  several  parts  of  the  grounds.  This  gives 
the  grass-plots  the  air  of  nursery  grounds.  The  shrubs 
are  trimmed  round  so  as  not  to  touch  each  other,  the 
earth  carefully  cleared  about  them  every  day,  and  the 


XXVlll 


Editor’s  Introduction 


edges  of  turf  cut  in  stiff  lines,  so  that  you  see  more  of 
black  earth  than  of  green  foliage  and  the  free  beauty 
of  nature  is  quite  checked.  Mr.  Nash,  however,  adheres 
to  a very  different  principle,  and  the  new  gardens  of 
Buckingham  Palace  are  models  to  all  planters. 

This  criticism  of  Blenheim  and  the  apprecia- 
tion of  the  landscape  architect.  Brown,  are  spe- 
cially interesting : — 

The  park  is  five  German  miles  in  circumference,  and 
the  piece  of  water,  the  finest  of  its  kind  existing,  occu- 
pies almost  eighty  acres.  The  pleasure-grounds  are  on 
an  equally  grand  scale;  forty  men  are  ordinarily  em- 
ployed in  mowing.  Opposite  the  house  the  water  forms 
a cascade,  so  admirably  constructed  of  large  masses  of 
rock  brought  from  a great  distance,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  it  artificial. 

One  cannot  help  admiring  the  grandeur  of  Brown’s 
conceptions  as  one  wanders  through  these  grounds:  he 
is  the  Shakespeare  of  gardening. 

Doubtless  the  Prince  here  allowed  himself  to 
say  a little  more  in  favor  of  this  famous  place 
than  he  would  have  on  sober  thought.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  Piickler  was  entertained  in 
England  everywhere  by  the  aristocracy  and  even 
royalty  in  the  most  magnificent  manner,  and 
consequently  it  is  remarkable  that  he  should  have 
criticized  adversely  any  of  the  English  estates. 
Think  for  a moment : would  any  one  at  the  pres- 
ent time  make  a tour  of  American  and  English 
estates  and  write  in  his  letters  as  boldly  and  criti- 
cize as  pointedly  as  Piickler  did  a hundred  years 
ago  ? Perhaps  it  would  be  healthy  for  the  art  of 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XXIX 


landscape  gardening  if  some  one,  competent  and 
independent,  would  undertake  to  write  a few  let- 
ters like  those  of  Piickler. 

In  order  to  see  that  he  was  little  influenced 
by  what  he  saw  of  Brown’s  work  at  Blenheim, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  wander  over  the  grounds 
of  the  park  at  Muskau  a few  hours.  The  satiri- 
cal lines  of  Peacock,  said  to  refer  to  the  art  of 
Brown,  could  hardly  be  applied  to  anything  de- 
signed by  Piickler : — 

Here  sweeps  a plantation  in  that  beautiful  regular 
curve;  there  winds  a gravel  walk;  here  are  parts  of  the 
old  wood  left  in  these  majestical  regular  clumps  dis- 
posed at  equal  distances  with  wonderful  symmetry; 
there  are  some  singular  shrubs  scattered  about  in  ele- 
gant profusion;  here  a portugal  laurel;  there  a spruce 
fir;  here  a juniper;  here  a lauristinus;  there  a spruce  fir; 
here  a larch;  there  a lilac;  here  a rhododendron;  there 
an  arbutus.  The  stream  you  see  has  become  a canal : 
the  banks  are  perfectly  smooth  and  green,  sloping  to  the 
water’s  edge.* 

Piickler  wrote  also  more  than  once  in  praise 
of  Repton’s  work,  and  even  brought  Repton’s 

* Headlong  Hall.  The  Prince’s  criticisms  of  the  landscape  garden- 
ing of  Germany  are  severe  and  the  comparisons  he  makes  with  England 
are  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  his  Fatherland.  However,  he  had  great 
hopes  of  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Potsdam,  which  were  being  laid  out  at 
that  time  by  the  famous  landscape  artist  Lenne,  and  which  are  to-day 
the  glory  of  Germany,  and  it  should  be  said  here  that  a few  of  the 
strictures  made  by  Piickler  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
would  apply  to  much  of  the  German  landscape  gardening  of  to-day.  I 
do  not  mean  to  imply  that  a large  part  of  the  landscape  gardening  of 
Germany  is  not  open  to  criticism  viewed  from  a high  artistic  standpoint, 
just  as  is  that  of  England;  but  it  may  be  fairly  said  that  German 
landscape  gardening  approaches  that  of  England  more  nearly  now  than 
it  did  in  the  time  of  Prince  Piickler. 


XXX 


Editor’s  Introduction 


son  from  England  to  help  him  in  improving 
Muskau.  He  speaks  appreciatively  of  many  land- 
scape architects  and  horticulturists  or  gardeners, 
explains  their  ideas,  and  even  quotes  them  at 
length,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  criticize  them  as 
he  did  in  the  case  of  Repton’s  son.  Nor  did  he 
claim  for  himself  any  special  academic  standing. 
He  did  not  apparently  consider  himself  a pro- 
fessor of  the  art,  nor  did  he  undertake  to  found 
any  special  school  of  landscape  gardening.  Rather 
he  felt  like  a great  amateur  who  engaged  him- 
self in  a pleasant  occupation  with  profound  se- 
riousness, and  faithfully  devoted  himself  to  it 
because  it  was  the  joy  of  his  life.  Probably,  if 
he  had  desired  posthumous  fame,  he  would  have 
written  more  for  publication.  It  sufficed  him  to 
make  a fine  map  of  the  park  of  Muskau  and 
describe  it  more  or  less  completely  and  add 
thereto  sundry  “ hints,”  as  he  terms  them, 
although  their  character  is  so  fundamental  and 
comprehensive  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
anything  better  of  its  kind  in  landscape-gardening 
literature.  A quaint,  original,  free  spirit  of  a man ! 
He  did  his  chore  in  life  with  little  regard  to 
fame,  and  none  too  much  for  rules  or  conven- 
tions. Consequently,  it  is  not  strange  that,  with 
his  broad  and  almost  prophetic  outlook,  he  should 
impress  us  as  almost  a man  of  the  present  day. 
Certainly,  as  one  walks  and  drives  at  the  present 
time  around  his  park  at  Muskau,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  recognize  the  kinship  of  his  work  with 
modern  landscape  gardening.  He  seems  to  have 


East  Facade  and  Formal  Garden 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XXXI 


realized  his  ideas  with  such  force  and  vividness 
that  when  he  finally  executed  them  the  excel- 
lence of  his  work  was  so  evident  that  except  in 
minor  details  it  has  remained  unmolested  until 
the  present  time.  It  is  not  always  so  with  great 
places.  Repton  built  Bulstrode  for  the  Duke  of 
Portland  in  i8io  and  gives  an  elaborate  map  of 
it  as  one  of  his  important  works,  yet  Prince 
Piickler  notes  in  one  of  his  letters  that,  at  that 
time,  in  1829,  it  had  been  pulled  to  pieces  and 
the  ground  ploughed  up.  We  can  all  remember 
instances  of  a similar  kind.  It  may  be  possible, 
and  even  probable  as  already  noted,  that  the  land- 
scape art  of  the  park  at  Muskau  may  have  been 
of  such  evident  excellence  that,  as  the  estate  passed 
from  one  owner  to  another,  being  at  present  in 
the  possession  of  Hermann  von  Arnim-Muskau, 
each  one  has  instinctively  kept  intact  its  essential 
beauty.  For  similar  reasons.  Central  Park,  New 
York,  has  acquired  and  retained  defenders  who, 
amid  the  continued  storm  and  stress  of  the  attacks 
from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  have  man- 
aged to  keep  its  landscape  soul  alive  down  to  the 
present  day.  Quite  otherwise  than  with  a paint- 
ing the  park  or  estate  must  display  the  finest  kind 
of  art  or  it  will  not  find  the  doughty  defenders 
needed  to  resist  the  enemies  that  will  be  sure  to 
rise  up  on  every  side  from  the  midst  of  good 
people  who  really  think  themselves  the  best  of 
friends.  Nor  do  degeneration  and  destruction  of 
parks  result  generally  from  neglect,  as  in  the 
case  of  Babelsburgh,  near  Potsdam,  much  of  the 


XXXll 


Editor’s  Introduction 


beauty  of  which  is  the  result  of  Prince  Piickler’s 
ideas  and  advice,  but  it  comes  from  sinning  against 
the  light  by  those  who  ought  to  know  better. 
Fortunately,  if  the  art  is  really  sound  and  true 
there  generally  seems  to  be  a David  to  come  for- 
ward and  redeem  the  delectable  land  from  the 
hands  of  the  Philistines. 

The  full  development  of  landscape  architecture 
came  late.  Greek  art  in  architecture,  sculpture, 
song,  and  the  drama  struck  a high  note  which 
reached  almost  perfection  two  thousand  years 
before  the  glimmerings  of  true  landscape  archi- 
tecture appeared  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Nature  hardly  appealed  to  pagan  artists  except  in 
the  form  of  a human  being. 

When  Christ  said,  Consider  the  lilies,”  he 
struck  a new  note,  which,  although  submerged 
and  lost  in  the  monastic  sterility  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  began  to  secure  recognition  of  its  true 
value  in  the  minds  of  men  like  Du  Fresny  who 
first  applied  his  genius  to  the  landscape  concep- 
tion of  a new  Versailles,  which  was  unfortunately 
not  accepted  by  Louis  XIV.  All  through  the 
eighteenth  century  this  lily  of  Christ’s  own 
thought  continued  to  open  its  petals  until  in  the 
early  days  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  the  works 
of  Repton  and  Prince  Pückler,  the  goodly  flower 
of  landscape  architecture  appeared  in  full  bloom. 
It  is  not  that  finer  trees  and  shrubs,  better  turf 
and  wider  vistas  have  not  obtained  in  later  days. 
That  goes  without  saying ! It  is  that  men  have 
learned  how  to  design  a landscape  on  natural 


Editor’s  Introduction  xxxiii 


lines,  to  take  a terrain  and  study  out  just  what  it 
is  worth  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a landscape 
which  shall  be  evolved  from  its  own  peculiar 
constitution  and  capacity  for  beauty.  Better  work 
may  be  done  and  has  been  done;  note  Central 
and  Prospect  Parks,  New  York  City,  designed 
by  Olmsted  and  Vaux.  These  men,  as  well  as 
Prince  Pückler,  also  based  their  work  on  funda- 
mental principles  of  art,  and  in  the  best  land- 
scape architecture  of  the  future  these  principles 
will  not  and  cannot  be  changed,  for  they  are  in- 
herent in  the  nature  of  the  subject. 

As  an  example  of  the  way  Pückler  indicated 
his  principles  of  design  it  may  be  permitted  to 
quote  a final  passage  from  one  of  his  letters : — 

The  Park  at  Mount  B.  affords  a perfect  study  for 
the  judicious  distribution  of  masses  of  water  to  which  it 
is  so  difficult  to  give  the  character  of  grandeur  and  sim- 
plicity that  ought  to  belong  to  them.  It  is  necessary  to 
study  the  forms  of  nature  for  the  details,  but  the  prin- 
cipal thing  is  never  to  suffer  an  expanse  of  water  to  be 
completely  overlooked  or  seen  to  its  whole  extent.  It 
should  break  on  the  eye  gradually,  and  if  possible  lose 
itself  at  several  points  at  the  same  time,  in  order  to 
give  full  play  to  the  fancy;  the  true  art  in  all  landscape 
gardening. 

The  estimate  of  the  genius  of  Pückler,  enunci- 
ated by  Goethe  nearly  a hundred  years  ago,  has 
been  already  quoted.  It  would  seem  well  to  com- 
pare this  with  the  latest  and  most  authoritative 
criticism  of  Pückler  made  in  one  of  the  letters 
of  the  late  Charles  Eliot,  the  best  writer  on  land- 


XXXIV 


Editor’s  Introduction 


scape  architecture  of  the  present  generation.  He 
writes  as  follows:  Piickler  “would  evolve,  from 
out  of  the  confused  natural  situation,  a compo- 
sition in  which  all  that  was  fundamentally  char- 
acteristic of  the  scenery,  the  history,  and  indus-' 
try  of  his  estate,  should  be  harmoniously  united.” 
In  other  words,  as  the  same  author  writes  farther 
on,  “he  would  not  force  upon  his  native  land- 
scape any  foreign  type  of  beauty ; on  the  contrary, 
his  aim  was  the  transfiguration,  the  idealization 
of  such  beauty  as  was  indigenous.”  Again  Charles 
Eliot  writes:  — 

One  circumstance  greatly  favored  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  design  — namely,  the  very  fact  that  he  had 
to  do  with  a valley  and  not  with  a plain  or  plateau. 
The  irregular  rising  land  skirting  the  river  levels  sup- 
plied the  frame  for  his  picture:  the  considerable  stream 
flowing  through  the  midst  of  the  level  with  here  and 
there  a sweep  towards  the  enclosing  hills,  became  the 
all  connecting  and  controlling  element  in  his  landscape. 
Well  he  knew  what  artists  call  breadth  and  unity  of 
effect  was  fully  assured  if  only  he  abstained  from  in- 
serting impertinent  structures  or  other  objects  in  the 
midst  of  this  hill-bounded  intervale. 

With  his  usual  disregard  of  difficulties,  Piickler 
boldly  diverted  the  river,  first  into  a broad  lake, 
then  into  the  moat  of  the  castle,  and  finally  into 
a brook  through  the  garden,  where,  unlike  the 
London  rivers  which  the  poet  Gray  says  “ only 
glide  and  whisper,”  the  water  dances  along  over 
rocks  and  “roars  gently.”  This  beautiful  piece 
of  work  looks  so  natural  one  cannot  believe 


View  of  the  Lake  at  Blenheim 


Editor’s  Introduction 


XXXV 


it  artificial,  and  that  is  because  Pückler  faith- 
fully applied  his  principles  of  art,  not  after  the 
Englishman  Brown’s  methods,  but  according 
to  Nature’s  way.  This  kind  of  boldness  and 
nature-wise  treatment  appears  everywhere,  as 
may  be  seen  by  any  one  visiting  the  park  to-day. 
While  one  wanders  around  the  shores  of  the  lake 
out  on  the  lawn  and  passes  through  the  garden 
and  across  the  bridge  and  up  and  up  to  the 
heights  where  the  remnants  of  the  sacred  groves 
stand,  one  finally  turns  and  surveys  the  scene  of 
“ tower  and  town,”  castle  and  baths,  and  the  smoke 
of  the  factories,  all  coordinated  and  unified  in  one 
great  picture  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  five  thou- 
sand acres,  and  miles  of  territory.  The  parts  are 
as  completely  harmonized  as  an  opera,  or  a song, 
or  a great  picture. 

After  dwelling  on  this  scene,  are  we  not  justi- 
fied in  asserting  that  in  all  essential  matters  Prince 
Pückler  has  stamped  “ the  last  word”  on  his  park 
at  Muskau.  There  may  be  parks,  and  doubtless 
are,  more  perfect  in  this  or  that  part,  but  it  must 
be  conceded  by  good  judges  that  Pückler  has, 
in  spite  of  his  limitations,  mistakes,  and  fail- 
ures, created  one  of  the  few  great  parks  of  the 
world. 

The  book.  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening y 
although  it  may  seem  to  deal  chiefly  with 
Pückler’s  letters  from  England,  is  really  a kind 
of  notebook  rather  than  a formal  treatise.  It  is, 
however,  very  informing  of  the  principles  and 
practice  of  Pückler  in  his  landscape  treatment 


XXXVl 


Editor’s  Introduction 


of  his  estates  at  Muskau.  It  is,  in  part,  a disser- 
tation occupying  itself  with  many  things  be- 
sides landscape  architecture,  but  it  is  full  of 
sound  ideas  and  suggestions.  It  does  not  devote 
itself  chiefly  to  the  discussion  of  trees  and  shrubs, 
as  do  many  books  of  a similar  kind,  but  it  gives 
you  the  underlying  rules  of  the  art.  You  will 
readily  excuse  the  digressions,  which  Piickler 
himself  deplores,  when  you  come  to  study  the 
system  of  practice  and  the  details  of  the  plan  by 
means  of  journeys  in  the  book  which  take  you 
miles  around  the  park.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
so  extended  a study  of  a great  park  was  ever 
written  before  by  the  man  who  designed  the 
entire  scheme.  The  Prince  did  not  undertake  to 
instruct  the  reader  fully  and  completely.  He 
claimed  to  have  had  “a  fairly  long  practical 
experience,  much  careful  study  of  practical  ex- 
amples combined  with  a passionate  love  of  the 
art  of  gardening  in  the  widest  sense,”  all  of  which 
enabled  him,  he  thinks,  “to  give  some  valuable 
hints  and  to  draw  up  some  useful  rules.” 

His  philosophy,  his  art,  and  his  poetry  do 
seem  at  times,  however,  to  render  his  treatise 
hardly  scientific  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
term,  and  yet  his  advice  is  almost  always  sound 
and  sensible;  moreover,  with  it  all,  he  not  infre- 
quently drops  into  the  frame  of  mind  of  the  man 
who,  as  the  old  phrase  has  it,  “talks  as  he  walks 
and  thus  to  himself  says  he.”  It  is  simply  Prince 
Piickler  with  all  that  goes  to  make  Prince  Piick- 
ler. He  is  a prince  and,  at  the  same  time,  some- 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xxxvii 


thing  very  like  a socialist,  and  not,  by  any  means, 
always  a gardener,  deeply  as  he  is  interested  in 
horticulture.  He  had  no  desire  to  speak  unkindly 
of  any  one,  but  always  his  “ free  spirit  ” de- 
manded scope  of  expression.  Doubtless  he  wan- 
dered far  afield  in  his  musings,  but  if  the  reader 
will  only  dwell  for  a little  on  some  of  his  sen- 
tences that  seem  to  him,  at  first,  discursive  and 
even  possibly  absurd,  he  will  finally  come  to  find 
in  them  food  for  much  thought.  It  is  the  man 
Piickler  whom  we  cannot  help  wishing  to  know 
quite  as  much  as  his  interpretation  of  his  art. 
He  was  certainly  a personality.  Can  any  one  re- 
member as  strong  and  interesting  a personality 
among  landscape  architects? 

The  author’s  treatment  of  his  subject  in  his 
book  on  landscape  gardening  is  simple.  He  lays 
down,  or  rather  hints  and  intimates,  as  the  title 
of  the  book  indicates,  principles  and  ideas  that 
should  control,  in  chapters  devoted  to  the  laying- 
out  of  a park,  to  enclosures  or  fences,  to  the  lo- 
cation of  buildings,  to  the  making  of  country 
estates,  to  trees  and  shrubs  and  their  grouping, 
to  roads  and  paths,  water  features,  islands,  rocks, 
grading,  maintenance;  all  of  which  are  illus- 
trated by  examples  taken  from  the  estate  of 
Muskau. 

He  evidently  did  not  overestimate  the  value  of 
plans,  excellent  as  his  own  were,  deeming  them 
frequently  deceptive.  Personal  superintendence 
of  the  work,  supplementing  and  developing  still 
further  the  ideas  of  the  plan,  evidently  for  him 


xxxviii  Editor’s  Introduction 


were  of  prime  importance.  Some  things  he  says, 
about  construction  of  roads  and  paths  and  the 
management  of  plants,  trees,  and  shrubs,  etc., 
might  well  be  revised  in  the  light  of  the  im- 
provements that  necessarily  come  with  the  ex- 
perience of  nearly  a hundred  years,  but  it  is 
astonishing,  at  the  same  time,  to  find  how  much 
of  his  advice  agrees  with  the  best  practice  of 
modern  days. 

Indeed,  when  all  is  said  that  can  be  said  about 
Piickler’s  limitations,  the  question  is  still  in 
order,  where  else,  except  in  his  pages  and  those 
of  Whately,  can  be  found  an  equally  fine  pres- 
entation of  the  great  art  of  landscape  architec- 
ture? Others  writing  on  the  same  subject  will 
even  seem  to  some,  by  comparison,  dry  and  aca- 
demic. Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  almost  alone, 
has  written  passages  that  emit  a like  sparkle  of 
genius.  Poetically  inspired  words  and  wit  and 
wisdom  continually  emerge  from  Prince  Piick- 
ler’s strange,  mystical  meditations.  He  cannot 
help  writing  in  this  vein  even  on  what  would  be 
ordinarily  considered  quite  prosaic  subjects,  as 
shown  by  the  following  quotation : — 

What  the  gold  backgrounds  of  the  old  masters,  which 
set  out  the  sweet,  lovable  faces  of  madonnas  and  saints 
in  so  ideal  a manner,  are  to  religious  pictures,  green, 
luxuriant  grass  spaces  are  to  a landscape. 

Here,  too,  is  a quotation,  illustrative  of  what 
I mean,  which  is  decidedly  quaint  and  original 
and  certainly  poetical,  far  and  away  different 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xxxix 


from  what  one  would  expect  to  find  in  this  par- 
ticular context : — 

Even  so  one  might  compare  a higher  garden  art 
with  music  and,  at  least  as  fitly  as  architecture  has  been 
called  “ frozen  music,”  to  call  garden  art  “ growing 
music.”  It,  too,  has  its  symphonies,  adagios,  and  alle- 
gros, which  stir  the  senses  with  vague  but  powerful  emo- 
tions, Further,  as  Nature  offers  her  features  to  the 
landscape  gardener  for  use  and  choice,  so  does  she  of- 
fer to  music  her  fundamental  tones;  beautiful  like  the 
human  voice,  the  song  of  birds,  the  thunder  of  the 
tempest,  the  roaring  of  the  hurricane,  the  bodeful  wail- 
ing of  branches  — ugly  sounds  like  howling,  bellowing, 
clattering,  and  squeaking.  Yet  the  instruments  bring 
all  these  out  and  work,  according  to  circumstances,  ear- 
splitting  sounds  in  the  hands  of  the  incompetent,  en- 
trancing when  arranged  by  the  artist  in  an  orderly  whole. 
The  genial  Nature  painter  does  the  same.  He  studies 
the  manifold  material  given  him  by  Nature  and  by  his 
art  works  the  scattered  parts  into  a beautiful  whole, 
whose  melody  flatters  the  senses,  but  unfolds  its  high- 
est powers  and  yields  the  greatest  enjoyment  only  when 
harmony  has  breathed  true  soul  into  the  work. 

Furthermore,  it  may  be  said,  in  addition  to 
these  conclusions  of  Prince  Piickler,  that  enter- 
ing more  deeply  and  widely  into  the  heart  of 
Nature  than  either  painting,  music,  or  sculpture, 
landscape  architecture  “is  a union  of  many  di- 
verse elements,  all  constantly  changing  and  act- 
ing upon  each  other,  such  as  we  see  in  some  fair 
meadow,  lit  by  sunshine  after  rain,  wherein  all 
things,  — from  the  chemical  ingredients  of  the 
grasses,  and  the  lines  of  the  flowers,  to  the  con- 
stituents of  the  stream  that  flows  through  it,  to 


xl 


Editor’s  Introduction 


the  colors  of  the  sky  and  the  cloud  shadows,  and 
the  songs  of  the  birds  and  the  humming  of  the 
little  insects,  and  the  quiver  of  the  butterfly 
wings,  — and  each  and  all  affected  and  affecting 
each  other,  yet  unite  to  create  a whole  which 
has  a deeper  harmony  than  other  arts,  because  it 
is  alive  and  changes  in  all  its  parts  from  moment 
to  moment.” 

The  age  in  which  Pückler  lived  was  not  ex- 
actly that  of  great  or  original  architects.  This 
was  the  case  particularly  in  Germany.  It  was  the 
period  of  learning  and  versatility,  and  was  chiefly 
imitative  in  the  character  of  its  art,  and  essen- 
tially classic.  Schinkel  planned  a replica  of  the 
Parthenon  at  Athens  to  be  erected  in  the  Crimea. 
It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  Prince  Pückler 
could  have  been  so  carried  away  by  his  admiration 
of  Schinkel  whose  fame  has  not  come  down  to  us 
with  any  real  distinction.  Schinkel’s  undoubted 
versatility  both  in  architecture  and  painting  and 
his  great  learning  in  Greek  art  gave  him  vogue  at 
the  time.  It  is  probable  that  many  of  the  extra- 
ordinary conceptions  found  in  Pückler’s  flower 
designs,  bridges,  and  temples,  fortunately  seldom 
carried  out,  owe  their  objectionable  features  to 
the  influence,  if  not  the  pencil,  of  Schinkel. 

It  is  seldom,  indeed,  that  we  find  a landscape 
architect  of  parts  who  is  also  a really  competent 
architect,  and  the  reverse  is  likewise  true.  At 
first  thought,  it  might  seem  quite  feasible  to  com- 
bine the  work  of  the  two  professions,  but,  in 
actual  practice,  the  attempt  generally  fails.  Cer- 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xli 


tainly  Le  Notre  did  not  succeed.  Calvert  Vaux 
was  a trained  architect  originally,  but  his  abid- 
ing reputation  is  entirely  based  on  his  work  as  a 
landscape  architect  in  designing  Central  Park, 
New  York,  and  other  great  parks  of  a similar 
character.  Mr.  Olmsted,  perhaps  the  greatest  of 
our  latter-day  landscape  architects,  never  at  any 
time  undertook  to  assume  the  role  of  architect. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any 
eminent  architect  of  the  present  day  would  as- 
sume to  lay  out  an  entire  park  or  country  estate. 
He  does  undertake  to  lay  out  gardens  (called,  it 
is  true,  by  Piickler  “extensions  of  the  house”) 
with  a limited  measure  of  success,  for  how  can 
he  design  a garden  with  intelligence,  without  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  plants  which  he  rarely 
has.  A garden  should  be  something  more  than 
a problem  of  architecture. 

It  may  be  claimed  and  is  claimed  by  most 
landscape  architects  that  landscape  architecture, 
like  all  work  which  seeks  to  deal  with  live  Na- 
ture, requires  unity  of  idea  everywhere,  and  that, 
with  many  differences,  parks  and  gardens  should 
be  considered  fundamentally  the  same.  In  the 
case  of  both  gardens  and  parks  the  landscape 
architect  deals  with  simple,  open  spaces,  and  in- 
tricate, complicated,  crowded  spaces,  with  high 
and  low  trees  and  shrubs,  perennials  and  bedding 
plants  and  grasses,  each  requiring  artistic  rela- 
tions, one  with  the  other. 

In  reviewing  the  various  designs  of  Piickler, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  some  of  the  excel- 


xlii 


Editor’s  Introduction 


lent  advice  that  he  gives  is  disregarded  in  the 
actual  designs  that  he  proposes  to  use,  and  actu- 
ally used,  in  some  cases,  in  his  park.  No  one,  it 
must  be  remembered,  however,  is  entirely  con- 
sistent in  his  ideas  nor  is  it  desirable  he  should 
be  so.  Certainly  Pückler  with  his  peculiar  genius 
could  not  be  expected  to  be  a paragon  of  con- 
sistency. What  Pückler  writes  on  Italian  villas 
shows  how  instinctively  his  good  taste  leads  him 
to  right  conclusions.  He  says:  — 

In  general,  a certain  irregularity  is  preferable  in  build- 
ings in  a park,  as  being  more  in  conformity  with  Nature 
and  more  picturesque.  . . . This  same  principle  ap- 
pears in  the  designs  of  the  ancient  villas.  . . . Traces  of 
this  principle  are  also  found  in  the  Italy  of  the  Renais- 
sance, in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries : buildings 
half  hidden  by  others,  large  and  small  windows  on  the 
same  face  of  the  building,  side  doors,  projecting  and 
receding  corners,  . . . cornice,  roofs  jutting  out,  and 
balconies  unsymmetrically  placed,  in  short,  everywhere 
a great  but  by  no  means  inharmonious  irregularity, 
which  pleases  the  fancy  because  the  reason  for  every 
departure  from  regularity  is  evident  or  may  be  sur- 
mised. The  garden  art  of  the  Romans,  which,  through 
the  study  of  the  classical  writers,  and  especially  through 
the  description  which  Pliny  gives  of  his  villa,  again 
came  into  practice  in  the  fifteenth  century  in  Italy,  and 
which  has  later,  in  the  so-called  French  gardens,  altered 
into  colder,  less  comfortable  forms,  deserves  particular 
consideration  on  this  very  point.  This  rich  and  sump- 
tuous art,  which  may  be  called  an  extension  of  the  art 
of  architecture  from  the  house  to  the  garden,  — or,  as 
the  English  might  say,  the  approach  of  the  landscape 
to  the  very  doors  of  the  house,  — may  be  most  suitably 
applied  to  this  purpose. 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xliii 


It  should  be  said,  however,  that  many  of 
Piickler’s  most  extravagant  garden  designs  were 
never  carried  out,  either  by  himself  at  the  time, 
or  by  others  at  a later  date,  and  to-day  there  is 
little  that  is  bizarre  or  offensive  to  good  taste  to 
be  seen  at  Muskau.  The  ideas  of  Pückler  which 
are  essential  to  the  development  of  his  original 
and  comprehensive  design’ have  been  unquestion- 
ably, to  a large  extent,  realized  and  retained. 
Pückler  has  this  paragraph  in  his  book ; — 

To  avoid  all  misunderstanding,  I repeat  that,  in  or- 
der not  to  break  the  thread  of  my  description  at  every 
moment,  much  which  is  only  proposed  has  to  be  de- 
scribed as  though  already  complete ; and  that  hardly 
one  third  of  the  place  has  been  so  far  carried  out,  al- 
though perhaps  three  quarters  of  the  work  has  been 
done. 

The  difficulties  he  had  to  overcome  were  enor- 
mous, as  explained  in  his  journeys  with  the  reader 
around  his  estate. 

Pückler’s  passionate  love  of  trees  and  his  pride 
in  his  ancestors  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
passage,  which,  on  account  of  its  peculiarly 
characteristic  quality,  seems  to  demand  special 
mention  in  these  preliminary  pages:  — 

The  finest  forms  of  mountains  and  lakes,  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  sun  and  sky,  combined  with  the  naked  rocks 
and  bare  lakes,  cannot  replace  meadows  and  the  . . . 
diversified,  pleasinggreen  and  rich  foliage.  Fortunate  the 
man  to  whom  his  forbears  have  bequeathed  lofty  woods 
of  old  oaks,  beeches,  and  lindens,  these  proud  giants 
of  our  Northern  clime,  standing  still  untouched  by  the 
woodman’s  murderous  axe.  He  should  never  regard 


xliv 


Editor’s  Introduction 


them  without  veneration  and  delight,  he  should  cher- 
ish them  as  the  apple  of  his  eye,  for  neither  money 
nor  power,  neither  a Croesus  nor  an  Alexander,  can 
restore  an  oak  a thousand  years  old  in  its  wonderful 
majesty  after  the  poor  laborer  has  felled  it.  Terrible 
and  swift  is  the  destructive  power  of  man,  but  poor 
and  weak  is  his  power  to  rebuild.  May  an  ancient  tree 
be  to  you,  kind  reader,  who  love  Nature,  a holy  thing. 

The  concluding  paragraph  of  the  book  makes 
a fine  ending  to  his  dissertation  on  his  much- 
loved pursuit : — 

For  when  once  the  landowner  has  begun  to  idealize 
his  property,  he  will  soon  become  aware  that  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  will  secure  for  him  not  only  pecuniary 
advantage,  but  also  real  artistic  delight,  and  how  thank- 
ful Nature  is  to  him  who  dedicates  his  powers  with  love. 
So  then,  if  each  one  does  his  best  for  his  own  tirelessly 
and  thoroughly,  and  the  thousand  facets  combine  easily 
and  well  to  form  one  ring,  the  lovable  dream  of  the  St. 
Simonians  might  become  true  of  a universal  cult  of  our 
mother  earth.  For  this  purpose,  however,  it  would  be 
well  to  turn  aside  a little  from  these  sad  politics,  which 
absorb  everything  and  give  so  little  in  return,  and 
revert  a little  more  to  happy  art,  whose  service  is  in 
itself  a reward ; since  for  the  ruling  of  the  State  we  can- 
not all  strive.  But  to  seek  to  improve  himself  and  his 
property  is  in  the  power  of  each  one  of  us,  and  it  is  even 
a question  whether  in  such  a simple  manner,  in  honest 
and  homely  endeavor,  the  so-much-desired  freedom 
may  not  be  attained  with  more  calm  and  safety  than  by 
the  many  experiments  in  superficial  theoretic  forms  of 
State.  For  he  only  can  be  free  who  commands  himself. 

The  letters  from  England,  however,  form  the 
best  kind  of  introduction  to  the  real  Piickler  and 


Editor’s  Introduction 


xlv 


his  book  on  landscape  gardening.  There  is  noth- 
ing more  informing  of  the  growth  and  the  aspi- 
rations and  inspirations  of  a man  than  his  letters 
to  a close  friend  or  dear  relative,  and  the  greater 
the  man,  the  more  ready,  generally,  and  it  seems 
in  most  cases,  the  more  able,  he  is  to  reveal 
on  paper  his  actual  heart  and  soul,  — cor  ad  cor 

Samuel  Parsons 


HINTS  ON 

LANDSCAPE  GARDENING 
AUTHOR’S  INTRODUCTION 


Author’s  Introduction 


Permit  us  to  bring  the  beautiful  also  into  our  de- 
sign: for  I do  not  see  why  we  should  disassociate  the 
beautiful  from  the  useful,  for  what — to  come  to  the 
point — what  is  useful  ? Merely  what  nourishes  us,  warms 
us,  and  shelters  us  from  the  weather  ? And  why  do  we  call 
such  things  useful?  Only  because  they  tolerably  ad- 
vance the  welfare  of  mankind?  Yet  the  beautiful  ad- 
vances it  in  a far  higher  and  greater  degree ; therefore 
among  useful  things  the  beautiful  is  the  most  useful  of 
all.  (Vom  Regieren,  German  Memoirs^ 

IN  the  greater  part  of  Germany,  it  must  be 
admitted,  we  have  scarcely  yet  awakened  to 
the  practical  and  successful  pursuit  of  utilities,  and 
but  few  have  directed  their  intelligence  and  ener- 
gies, without  consideration  of  advantage,  to  the 
beautiful ; a general,  intelligent  combination  of 
both  aims  is  yet  rarer. 

This  applies  most  of  all  to  every  kind  of  landed 
property,  and  it  is  certain  that  herein  England 
has  advanced  beyond  our  level  of  civilization  by 
nearly  a century : what  is  there  accomplished  with 
ease,  here  remains  all  but  impracticable. 

But  it  is  time  that  our  well-to-do  landowners 
sought  a closer  rapprochement  with  the  English 
system  and  without  slavish  imitation  studied 
rather  the  intention  than  the  form,  always  giving 
due  consideration  to  the  conditions  of  locality. 

If  I cite  England  as  an  example,  it  is  not  be- 


4 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


cause  it  is  the  fashion,  or  from  Anglomania,  but 
from  the  firm  conviction  that  England  must  for 
a long  time  remain  an  unattainable  model  in  the 
art  of  a worthy,  and,  if  the  expression  may  be 
permitted,  a gentlemanly  iygentlemanartigen^y  en- 
joyment of  life,  especially  with  regard  to  coun- 
try life,  in  general  “comfort”  combined  with  the 
fullest  appreciation  of  a noble  sense  of  beauty  in 
every  form,  as  far  removed  from  effeminate,  Asi- 
atic voluptuousness  as  from  Continental  squalor 
and  dirt,  which  has  its  origin,  not  in  poverty, 
but  in  bad  habits  and  neglected  household  arrange- 
ments. 

In  this  higher  cultivation  of  the  pleasures  of 
life  landscape  gardening  has  also  developed  to  an 
extent  that  no  period  and  no  other  country  seem 
to  have  known ; and,  in  spite  of  a generally 
gloomy  and  sunless  climate,  England  has  devel- 
oped it  into  the  most  delightful  pursuit  for  the 
friend  of  Nature,  for  the  connoisseur  who  loves 
her  most  when  she  appears  in  unison  with  the  shap- 
ing hand  of  man,  as  the  raw  jewel  first  obtains 
its  greatest  beauty  only  through  polish.  I do  not 
by  this  wish  to  say  that  Nature  at  her  wildest, 
left  alone  to  her  simple,  often  sublime,  and  some- 
time even  awful,  grandeur,  may  not  evoke  the 
deepest,  nay,  the  most  religious,  sentiments;  but 
for  lasting  welfare  human  care  and  intelligence 
are  indispensable.  Even  in  painted  landscape,  we 
demand  something  which  reminds  us  of  human 
effort,  — as  we  say,  to  animate  it.  Yet  a far 
greater  variety  is  required  in  real,  than  in  painted. 


Haddon  Hall  and  the  River  Derwent 


Author’s  Introduction 


5 


landscape,  and  it  is  much  more  agreeable,  as  well 
as  beneficial,  to  the  feeling  human  heart  when, 
as  in  England,  we  can  admire  in  Nature,  almost 
everywhere  idealized  by  art,  not  only  the  palaces 
and  gardens  of  the  great  in  their  pride  and  mag- 
nificence, but  also,  in  harmonious  wholcy  the  modest 
dwellings  of  small  farmers  laid  out  with  as  much 
charm,  and  finished  as  completely.  For  they 
also,  like  the  proud  castles,  peep  sweetly  out  from 
primeval  trees  or  repose  on  gay  meadows,  sur- 
rounded by  blossoming  shrubs,  and  show  with 
equal  clearness,  by  appropriate  form  and  sober 
cleanliness,  the  delicate  taste  of  their  owners. 
The  poorest  can  deck  his  straw  hat  with  flowers 
and  tend,  after  his  daily  work,  a well-kept  garden, 
however  small,  where  naught  but  velvet  lawn 
grows,  “ ’midst  rose  and  jessamine  odors.” 

Must  we  not  be  filled  with  a real  sense  of 
shame  when  we  look  for  a counterpart  here  and 
still  find  the  greater  part  of  our  country  seats 
whose  chief  view  looks  on  the  manure  heap,  at 
whose  gates  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day  swine 
and  geese  disport  themselves,  and  whose  interiors 
can  show,  as  an  attempt  at  cleanliness,  only  com- 
mon boards  strewn  with  sand? 

I have  frequently  seen  in  my  Fatherland  in 
North  Germany  very  well-to-do  persons,  owners 
of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  marks,  living  in  such 
pseudo-castles  — mansions,  as  they  called  them  — 
as  an  English  farmer  no  doubt  would  without 
hesitation  have  taken  for  stables. 

Is  such  a place  the  seat  of  a gentleman?  A 


6 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


property  embellished  by  the  cabbage  garden, 
usually  close  to  the  house,  with  at  the  most  a few 
carnations  and  single  lavender  plants  surrounding 
his  onions  and  beet  roots;  alleys  of  crooked  fruit 
trees  sadly  hemmed  in  by  cabbages  and  turnips ! 
Should  a few  old  oaks  or  limes  from  his  fore- 
fathers’ day  have  withstood  the  tooth  of  time, 
then  the  good  husbandman  seldom  fails  to  rob 
them  of  their  foliage  for  his  sheep,  so  that  they 
stand  there  like  naked  victims,  stretching  out 
their  branches  to  heaven,  as  if  for  vengeance. 

Yet  more  painful  is  it  when  the  owner,  bitten 
by  the  fashion,  has  conceived  the  notion  of 
laying  out  his  gardens  in  so-called  English  style. 
The  straight  roads  are  then  turned  into  cork- 
screw forms  which  are  just  as  mechanical,  ser- 
pentining in  the  most  tedious  manner  through 
young  birches,  poplars,  and  larches,  and  gener- 
ally either  impassable  after  every  shower  from 
mud,  or  in  dry  weather  making  the  visitor  wade 
perspiring  through  loose  sand,  A few  exotic 
shrubs,  which  grow  badly  and  are  much  less 
beautiful  than  native  ones,  are  planted,  mixed 
with  young  firs  on  the  borders.  After  a few  years 
they  encumber  the  ground,  have  to  be  lopped, 
later  on  lose  their  lower  branches,  and  thus  pre- 
sent to  our  view  only  bare  stems  with  the  naked 
earth  between,  while  on  the  spaces  left  open  the 
badly  nourished  grass  and  stumpy  exotics  give  a 
picture  neither  of  a free  natural,  nor  of  an  arti- 
ficial, garden. 

If  the  plan  is  more  seriously  carried  out  and 


Author’s  Introduction 


7 


on  a larger  scale,  the  imperceptibly  flowing  ditch 
is  widened  to  what  is  called  a stream,  a gigantic 
bridge  is  built  of  rough  birch  trunks  in  a formid- 
able arch  over  the  modest  brook,  two  or  three 
stiff  avenues  are  cut  through  the  wood  to  give 
distant  views,  and  here  and  there  the  much- 
affected  temples  and  ruins  are  dotted  about,  of 
which  the  first  usually  become  in  a short  space 
what  the  second  pretend  to  be. 

This,  with  a few  exceptional  cases,  is  as  a rule 
the  highest  achievement  of  such  an  undertaking, 
which  really  only  causes  regret  that  good  land 
should  be  so  uselessly  withdrawn  from  field  and 
vegetable  culture. 

Meanwhile  all  this  has  been  ridiculed  with 
more  or  less  wit  often  enough,  but  it  is  seldom 
better  done^  even  now,  and  for  this  reason  alone  do 
I here  repeat,  that  many  great  and  costly  plans, 
begun  with  the  best  intentions  and  executed  at 
some  expense,  unfortunately  too  evidently  bear 
traces  of  the  very  poor  place  which  the  art  of 
landscape  gardening  as  yet  holds  in  our  Father- 
land.  It  is  true  that  there  are  a few  exceptions, 
but  a completed  example  which  could  be  set  be- 
side the  best  English  plans  has  not  come  within 
my  experience.  We  may  hope,  however,  that  the 
royal  gardens,  under  the  direction  of  the  excel- 
lent director,  Lenne,  which  are  to  surround  all 
Potsdam  with  a park,  will  present  us  with  such 
an  example. 

Far  from  intending  to  instruct  in  any  exhaus- 
tive manner  on  this  subject,  a fairly  long  prac- 


8 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


deal  experience,  the  careful  study  of  excellent 
examples,  combined  with  a passionate  love  for 
the  subject  and  the  earnest  perusal  of  the  best 
works  on  the  art  of  gardening  in  its  widest  sense, 
have  enabled  me,  I think,  to  give  some  valuable 
hints  and  to  draw  up  some  useful  rules,  which 
will  appear  to  the  expert  not  quite  unworthy  and 
which  may  appear  opportune  to  some  dilettante 
in  Nature-painting,  if  I may  so  call  the  creation 
of  a picture,  not  with  colors,  but  with  real  woods, 
hills,  meadows,  and  streams,  and  which  may  put 
it  in  the  category  of  the  arts.  For  rightly  under- 
stood and  judiciously  carried  out,  these  sugges- 
tions may  put  one  in  a position,  without  having 
to  travel  the  costly  and  difficult  road  of  experi- 
ence, to  entrust  to  the  park  director,  engineer, 
inspector,  gardener,  or  whatever  he  may  be  called, 
merely  the  technical  execution  of  his  own  ideas, 
and  thus  himself  present  a work  of  art,  sprung 
from  his  own  individuality,  formed  out  of  his 
own  temperament,  instead  of  having  a garden  or 
rather  a region  made,  as  one  orders  a suit  of 
clothes  at  the  tailor’s. 

Much  will  be  found,  if  not  familiar,  yet  per- 
haps not  exactly  new,  and  many  an  idea  may 
have  been  better  expressed,  especially  in  English 
works,  which,  however,  are  apt  to  be  tediously 
prolix  and  to  dilute  every  millionth  part  of  salt 
with  a caskful  of  water.* 

‘ When  this  work  was  nearly  finished,  my  attention  was  drawn  to 
a manual  on  the  same  theme,  recently  published  in  Leipsic.  I was  pre- 
pared to  suppress  my  work,  but  found  on  perusal  of  the  manual,  noth- 
ing but  a laborious  compilation  of  badly  digested  recipes  from  English 


Author’s  Introduction 


9 


The  compression  and  brevity  which  I have 
aimed  at  in  matters  of  common  knowledge  will, 
I hope,  earn  the  gratitude  of  the  reader,  but  as 
a small  merit  I may  claim  that  really  nothing 
has  been  copied  from  books,  but  that  everything 
which  I give  has  been  found  to  be  true  from  per- 
sonal experience  and  practically  verified. 

For  the  better  understanding  of  what  follows 
it  will  be  necessary  briefly  to  give  the  manner  in 
which  I intend  ordering  my  remarks. 

I shall  show  by  titles  in  their  order  the  con- 
tents of  each  chapter,  and  for  this  I shall  for  the 
most  part  utilize  the  park  laid  out  by  myself, 
since  my  theory,  as  I have  said,  is  chiefly  carried 
out  in  this  park. 

Drawings,  which  make  the  text  more  read- 
able, have  been  inserted  wherever  necessary  for 
complete  comprehension.  A thorough  exposi- 
tion of  general  principles  is  followed  by  a short 
history  and  description  of  the  park  itself,  with 
continual  reference  to  the  rules  previously  laid 
down.  It  is  not,  however,  my  intention  to  go 
into  too  great  detail,  but  to  set  forth  the  results 
obtained  rather  than  the  particular  road  taken, 
and,  as  the  title  “Hints”  shows,  in  no  way  to 
give  a complete  manual,  confining  myself  to 
those  matters  in  which  we  seem  to  be  chiefly 
lacking,  and  finally  leave  to  the  technical  work- 
man or  expert  whatever  lies  in  his  province. 

works.  What  Blumenbach  said  of  phrenology  applies  to  this  book; 
“The  true  is  not  new,  and  the  new  is  not  true.”  Repton  has  sup- 
plied most  of  the  useful  matter,  but,  for  the  most  part,  it  has  been  mis- 
understood. 


< '■  ,■■■ 


PART  FIRST 

HINTS  ON  LANDSCAPE  GARDENING 
IN  GENERAL 


•>•:;.:■  ^ 


'•«r; 

>'4vr^ 


Chapter  I 

The  Laying-out  of  a Park 


The  indispensable  foundation  for  the  build- 
ing of  a park  is  a controlling  scheme.'  It 
should  be  begun  and  carried  out  with  entire  con- 
sistency. It  is  therefore  necessary  to  have  it  thor- 
oughly thought  out  from  the  first,  and  guided  all 
the  way  through  by  one  controlling  mind,  a mind 
that  should  make  use  of  the  thoughts  of  many 
others,  welding  them  into  an  organic  whole  so 
that  the  stamp  of  individuality  and  unity  shall 
never  be  lost.  But  let  me  not  be  misunderstood; 
a general  plan  should  govern  the  whole ; there 
must  be  no  room  for  random  work ; in  every  de- 
tail the  guiding,  creating  brain  must  be  seen ; and 
it  is  essential  that  the  scheme  should  originate 
from  the  special  circumstances  of  the  artist,  from 
the  experience  and  conditions  of  his  life  or  the 
former  history  of  his  family,  limited  by  the  lo- 
cality with  which  he  has  to  deal.  I do  not  ad- 
vise, however,  that  the  whole  plan  should  be 
worked  out  in  exact  detail  at  first  and  doggedly 

‘ One  principle  should,  above  all,  underlie  the  art  of  park  design; 
namely,  the  creation,  from  the  material  at  hand,  out  of  the  place  as  it 
stands,  of  a concentrated  picture  having  Nature  as  its  poetical  ideal; 
the  same  principle  which,  embodied  in  all  other  spheres  of  art,  makes 
of  the  true  work  of  art  a microcosm,  a perfect,  self-contained  world  in 
little. 


14  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


maintained  to  the  end.  I would,  to  a large  ex- 
tent, recommend  just  the  opposite ; for  even 
if  the  main  scheme  comprehends  many  features 
which  may  be  considered  from  the  start,  in  work- 
ing it  out,  the  artist  must  continually  follow  the 
inspiration  of  his  imagination.  From  time  to 
time  the  painter  will  alter  his  picture  (which, 
after  all,  is  much  less  complicated  than  the  pic- 
ture the  landscape  gardener  has  to  create),  here 
and  there  making  a part  more  true  to  the  gen- 
eral effect  or  to  Nature,  here  improving  a tone, 
there  giving  more  accent,  more  power  to  a line. 
Why,  then,  should  the  landscape  gardener,  who 
works  in  material  so  refractory,  so  changeable, 
and  often  so  impossible  to  estimate  in  advance, 
and  who,  moreover,  has  to  unite  many  different 
pictures  in  one, — why  should  he  be  expected 
to  succeed  in  hitting  the  mark  at  the  first  at- 
tempt infallibly?  Much  will  be  discovered  as 
he  goes  on  studying,  observing,  both  within  and 
without  the  confines  of  the  place,  — the  light 
effects  on  his  raw  material  (for  light  is  one  of 
his  chief  assets),  establishing  cause  and  effect, 
and  thereby  finding  new  ways  of  working  out 
in  detail  his  early  motives,  or  giving  them  up 
altogether  if  other  ideas  for  the  treatment  of 
parts  occur  to  him  as  being  better. 

To  leave,  undisturbed,  some  particular  feature 
which  has  proved  a failure,  is  pitiable.  The  rea- 
son the  blemish  is  left  is  because  it  has  cost 
so  much  time,  so  much  money,  and  because  a 
change  would  add  to  the  expense,  costing  as  much 


The  Laying-out  of  a Park 


again  or  even  more.  Constant  discipline  is  indis- 
pensable in  the  proper  exercise  of  any  art,  and 
when  means  are  not  sufficient  to  treat  every  part 
of  a park  as  it  should  be  treated,  what  money 
there  is  had  better  be  devoted  toward  the  im- 
provement of  the  old  established  features  than  to 
the  making  of  new  ones.  The  postponing  of  al- 
terations which  are  recognized  as  advisable  is  a 
dangerous  proceeding  also,  because  existing  faults 
easily  lead  to  the  wrong  treatment  of  new  fea- 
tures. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  “ artistic  produc- 
tion is  a matter  of  conscience”;  hence  a person 
with  an  artistic  conscience  cannot  remain  con- 
tent with  parts  that  have  been  recognized  as  not 
up  to  the  standard,  or  as  failures.  Following  the 
example  of  Nature,  which  starts  and  completes 
her  humblest  work  with  the  same  assiduous  care 
that  she  bestows  upon  her  most  sublime  crea- 
tions, one  would  rather  make  any  sacrifice  than 
leave  the  blemish  one  has  become  aware  of,  even 
if  in  itself  it  is  but  a subordinate  matter. 

Although  in  my  work  at  Muskau  I never  de- 
parted a moment  from  the  main  idea  which  I 
shall  have  occasion  later  to  describe,  yet  I con- 
fess that  many  portions  have  not  only  been  re- 
touched, but  that  they  have  been  entirely  changed, 
often  once,  sometimes  three  and  even  four  times. 
It  would  be  a great  error  to  suppose  that  confu- 
sion results  from  repeated  alterations  undertaken 
with  intelligence,  for  sound  reasons  and  not  from 
caprice.  Rather  than  that  they  should  be  un- 


1 6 Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


dertaken  from  pure  caprice  it  would  certainly  be 
best  never  to  have  alterations  for  improvement, 
in  general  the  dictum,  nonum  prematur  in  annum^ 
holds  good.  One  must  never  rest  with  correcting 
and  refining  until  the  best  possible  results  have 
been  attained ; a principle  never  to  be  relinquished 
and  which  oftentimes  alone  proves  to  be  the  great 
teacher.* 

One  can  see  from  this  how  unwise  it  is  to 
invite  a strange  artist  for  some  days  or  weeks,  or 
even  months,  with  the  view  of  making  a plan  in 
which  every  road  and  every  plantation,  the  com- 
manding features  and  all  the  details,  are  exactly 
fixed;  and  worse  still,  to  send  such  a person 
merely  a survey  of  the  place,  he  having  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  character  of  the  region,  of  the  effects 
of  hill  and  dale,  of  high  or  low  trees  in  the  im- 
mediate foreground  or  in  the  distance,  so  that  he 
may  proceed  at  once  to  draw  on  submissive  paper 
his  lines,  which,  no  doubt,  may  look  very  pretty 
and  well  there,  but  which  realized  into  facts  are 
bound  to  achieve  at  best  an  inappropriate  and 
unsatisfactory  design.  One  who  intends  to  build 
up  a landscape  must  do  so  out  of  the  actual  ma- 

* Some  years  ago,  when  I was  showing  my  place  to  a lady  of  intel- 
ligence and  understanding,  she  modestly  remarked  that  she  understood 
but  little  of  the  matter ; that  she  could  call  to  mind  many  more  pic- 
turesque, grandiose  places  than  mine,  but  that  here,  with  the  general 
impression  of  quietness  and  simplicity,  something  new  appealed  to  her  at 
every  turn.  No  remark  could  have  been  more  flattering  to  me,  and  if 
her  opinion  is  well  founded  I may  consider  my  work  truly  successful, 
a result  which  may  be  attributed  largely  to  the  two  principles  followed: 
to  have  one  main  idea,  and  yet  never  to  allow  any  feature  to  remain 
which  had  proved  in  any  way  to  be  a failure. 


The  Laying-out  of  a Park 


17 


terials  from  which  that  particular  landscape  is  to 
be  created,  and  he  must  be  familiar  with  them 
in  every  particular.  Both  in  plan  and  execution 
he  works  quite  otherwise  than  does  the  painter 
on  his  canvas;  he  deals  with  realities.  The  beauty 
of  a bit  of  real  Nature,  which  by  the  art  of  the 
painter  can  only  be  partly  hinted  at,  cannot  on  a 
plan  be  given  at  all.  I am  inclined  to  believe,  on 
the  contrary,  that,  except  in  a very  flat  region 
w'here  no  views  are  possible  and  where  little  can 
be  achieved  anyhow,  a plan  which  is  agreeable 
to  look  at,  with  lines  pleasing  to  the  eye,  cannot 
truly  stand  for  beauty  in  Nature.  My  experience 
is  that  in  order  to  achieve  fine  results  in  landscape 
gardening  one  is  often  obliged  to  select  lines 
which  in  a plan  drawn  on  paper  have  no  charm. 


Chapter  II 

Size  and  Extent 


For  the  landscape  architect  to  achieve  a great 
effect,  it  is  not  necessary  that  a park  should 
be  large.  An  extended  estate  is  often  so  bungled, 
so  belittled  by  incompetent  treatment,  that,  lack- 
ing in  unity,  it  appears  quite  small.  I may  here 
remark,  by  the  way,  that  I think  Michael  An- 
gelo was  totally  wrong  when  he  said  about  the 
Pantheon,  “Ye  marvel  at  it  on  the  earth,  I will 
set  it  in  the  heavens.”  He  meant  thereby  to 
achieve  a more  imposing  effect,  and  as  he  said, 
so  he  did.  He  gave  to  the  dome  of  St.  Peter’s 
the  same  size  as  that  of  the  Pantheon,  but  how 
unfortunate  is  the  result ! The  dome  of  St. 
Peter’s,  looming  up  in  the  air  above  the  enor- 
mous masses  of  the  building,  appears  in  propor- 
tion small  and  insignificant,  while  the  dome  of 
the  old  Pantheon,  placed  on  the  right  base,  ap- 
pears after  centuries  as  sublime  as  the  arch  of  the 
firmament. 

Poised  on  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc  the 
Pyramids  would  hardly  appear  as  large  as  sentry 
boxes,  and  Mont  Blanc  itself,  seen  from  the  dis- 
tant plains,  looks  like  a little  snow-hill.  Large 
and  small  are,  therefore,  relative  terms.  It  is  not 
from  the  thing  itself  that  we  judge,  but  from  its 


Size  and  Extent 


19 


appearance  in  given  surroundings,  and  it  is  here 
that  landscape  architecture  has  the  widest  of  fields. 
For  instance,  a tree  a hundred  feet  high,  which 
in  the  middle  distance  hardly  rises  above  the 
horizon,  will  at  a short  distance  tower  above  it ; 
hence,  with  intelligent  management,  with  due 
appreciation  of  the  value  that  a relation  of  fore- 
ground has  to  distance,  it  is  possible  to  give 
character  and  expression  to  the  landscape  and  to 
secure  an  effect  of  grandeur  and  extent. 

I cannot  help  remarking  here  that  if  I have 
always  held  up  as  a model  the  general  appear- 
ance of  English  parks,  which  testify  to  a uni- 
versally diffused  taste  for  park  culture  and  em- 
bellishment, I still  believe  that  in  many  ways 
England  might  have  done  much  better.  It  seems 
to  me  that  with  much  beauty  most  English 
parks  have  one  blemish  which  makes  them,  on 
long  acquaintance,  rather  tedious  and  monoto- 
nous. I have  in  mind  neither  the  English  “ pleas- 
ure-grounds” nor  their  gardens,  — which  are  full 
of  variety,  — but  their  parks.  For  instance,  in  re- 
gard to  the  deliberate  treatment  of  these  parks  as 
features  laid  out  on  a diminutive  scale,  the  effect 
seems  to  be  altogether  inadequate  when  com- 
pared to  the  grandeur  and  magnificence  of  the 
open  country  around  them.  Indeed,  in  my  opin- 
ion, the  outside  country  not  infrequently  resem- 
• bles  far  more  a region  ennobled  by  art  in  variety 
than  the  parks. 

Many  English  parks  are  in  fact  nothing  but 
interminable  meadows  serving  as  pastures  for 


20  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


numerous  herds,  either  of  tame  deer,  sheep,  cat- 
tle, or  horses,  with  a few  picturesquely  arranged 
groups  of  lofty  old  trees.  The  first  view  of  such 
noble  spaces  is  imposing.  One  has  the  impression 
of  a splendid  picture,  but  it  is  the  same  picture 
and  the  impression  therefore  is  always  the  same. 
Many  blemishes  become  evident  in  the  detail.  All 
tree-trunks  being  browsed  upon  up  to  a certain 
height  by  the  cattle  (often  with  an  effect  quite 
as  regular  as  if  trimmed  with  shears),  much  and 
needed  variety  of  form  is  lost.  The  shrubbery 
cannot  be  preserved  without  special  enclosures; 
and  hence  it  is  needed  to  diversify  the  scene,  and 
help  make,  within  the  picture  of  the  ensemble^ 
many  subordinate  ones ; indeed,  every  newly 
planted  tree  must  be  enclosed;  and  such  artificial 
enclosures  gives  to  the  picture  a very  stiff  look. 
A single  path  usually  leads  through  these  wide 
grassy  expanses  to  and  from  the  castle,  which, 
in  the  middle  of  the  lawn,  stands  bald  and  cold 
in  lonely  majesty  while  cows  and  sheep  browse 
up  to  the  marble  steps  leading  to  it.  It  would 
not  be  surprising  if  the  visitor,  feeling  quite  for- 
lorn in  such  monotonous  and  lonely  grandeur, 
should  be  under  the  impression  that  he  had  come 
upon  a bewitched  region  no  longer  inhabited  by 
man,  where  John  Bull  had  been  really  trans- 
formed into  the  shape  of  a beast.  This  effect 
could  easily  be  avoided  if  allotted  spaces  were 
set  apart  for  cattle  as  well  as  for  deer,  instead  of 
having  the  whole  park  given  over  to  them.  It 
seems  to  have  become  a fixed  idea  with  the 


Size  and  Extent 


21 


English  that  a landscape  without  cattle  is  bound 
to  be  melancholy,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
consider  the  animation  by  human  beings  to  be 
proportionately  objectionable,  and  private  gar- 
dens are,  as  a rule,  barred  to  the  stranger.*  The 
democratic,  humane  use  of  our  great  German 
estates  is  foreign  to  them,  but  their  excuse  is 
perhaps  to  be  found  in  the  roughness  of  their 
mob. 

I have  previously  stated  the  proposition  that 
size  is  not  an  absolutely  necessary  element  in  the 
making  of  a park ; yet,  where  possible,  I think 
it  very  desirable,  in  order  that  a greater  variety 
of  parts  may  be  gained,  a quality  which  will 
always  present  the  supreme  charm  of  novelty. 
Laid  out  with  equal  intelligence  I should  always 
prefer  the  more  extensive  to  the  smaller  park, 
even  if  the  latter  should  be  more  favored  bv 
Nature.  In  Prussia,  where  land  has  so  much  less 
value  than  in  other  countries,  such  large  estates 
are  easily  obtainable,  and  I advise  every  one  of 
my  countrymen  to  strive  for  large  places.  It  is 
certain  that,  considered  as  a little  world  sufficient 
unto  itself,  a park  where  one  cannot  ride  or 
drive  for  an  hour  at  least  without  going  over  the 
same  roads,  and  which  does  not  comprise  many 
roads  and  walks,  very  soon  tires  one,  if  confined 
to  it  alone.  But  where  a rich,  picturesque  Nature 
has  already  idealized  the  region  around  and  has 
made  it,  as  it  were,  into  a great  work  of  art,  as 
in  the  case  of  many  parts  of  Switzerland,  Italy, 

' This  is  not  the  case  at  the  present  time. 


22 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


South  Germany,  or  Silesia,  then  I am,  on  the 
whole,  of  the  opinion  that  projects  of  parks  are 
hors  d' oeuvre.  It  would  be  like  a little  landscape 
in  the  corner  of  a magnificent  Claude  Lorrain. 
There  one’s  work  should  be  confined  to  the  lay- 
ing-out of  good  roads,  that  the  enjoyment  of 
such  rare  scenery  may  be  made  easier,  here  and 
there  taking  down  some  isolated  trees  in  order 
to  open  views  which  are  hidden  by  Nature, 
always  indifferent  to  the  display  of  her  beauties. 

Near  the  house,  however,  one  should  seek  for 
the  charm  of  a garden  of  modest  proportions, 
which,  whenever  possible,  would  contrast  with 
Nature  around.  In  such  a garden  one  should 
have  in  view,  not  so  much  the  variety  of  a land- 
scape, as  comfort  and  charm,  safety  and  elegance. 
The  garden  art  of  the  Romans,  which,  through 
the  study  of  the  classical  writers,  and  especially 
through  the  description  which  Pliny  gives  of  his 
villa,  again  came  into  practice  in  the  fifteenth 
century  in  Italy,  and  which  was  later,  in  the  so- 
called  French  gardens,  altered  into  colder,  less 
comfortable  forms,  deserves  particular  considera- 
tion on  this  very  point.  This  rich  and  sumptu- 
ous art,  which  may  be  called  an  extension  of  the 
art  of  architecture  from  the  house  to  the  garden, 
— or,  as  the  English  might  say,  the  approach  of 
the  landscape  to  the  very  doors  of  the  house, — 
may  be  most  suitably  applied  to  this  purpose. 
Imagine,  for  instance,  among  the  precipices  and 
waterfalls,  the  dark  pine  woods  and  blue  glaciers 
of  mountainous  Switzerland,  a classical,  antique 


Size  and  Extent 


23 


building,  a palace  from  the  Strada  Balbi,  sump- 
tuous in  its  decorative  flourishes,  surrounded  with 
high  terraces,  with  rich,  multi-colored  parterres 
of  flowers,  studded  with  marble  statues  and  alive 
with  the  movement  of  waters,  — what  a contrast 
would  this  be  to  the  tremendous,  naked  grandeur 
of  the  setting  of  mountains  ? A few  steps  aside 
in  the  woods,  and  palace  and  gardens  would  have 
vanished  from  view,  as  by  magic,  to  make  room 
again  for  the  undisturbed  loneliness  and  majestic 
wilderness  of  Nature.  Farther  on,  perhaps,  a 
bend  in  the  road  would  open  up  an  unexpected 
vista,  where,  in  the  distance,  the  work  of  art, 
like  a realized  fairy  dream,  would  show  through 
the  dark  firs,  glowing  in  the  light  of  the  setting 
sun,  or  rising  over  the  mysterious  darkness  of  the 
valley  in  a mass  where,  here  and  there,  the  tiny 
sparkles  of  lighted  candles  would  glow.  Would 
not  such  a picture  be  wonderful,  and  owe  its 
chief  beauty  largely  to  contrast  ? When  Nature 
offers  new  material,  the  scheme  must  be  differ- 
ent ; then  the  park,  an  oasis  in  a broad,  flat  space, 
must  first  create  its  own  environment.  Although 
the  same  laws  are  everywhere  the  foundation  of 
beauty,  they  have  to  be  interpreted  and  expressed 
in  various  ways.  In  such  a case,  where  no  im- 
pression by  great  contrasts  can  be  achieved,  one 
must  carefully  seek  to  create  a pleasant  and  gen- 
tle harmony,  bringing  the  few  large  elements, 
such  as  distant  views,  into  correspondence  with 
the  character  given  to  the  park.  The  size  of  the 
domain  then  becomes  a chief  consideration.  In 


24  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  former  example  it  is  necessary  to  embellish 
only  a single  spot  to  make  all  surrounding  Na- 
ture serve  one’s  own  purpose.  Here,  the  treat- 
ment should  extend  to  the  whole  region.  Exam- 
ples which  lie  between  these  two  schemes  will 
require  modifications  of  both  propositions  and 
should  be  tastefully  treated  according  to  the  re- 
spective localities.  In  all  these  cases  the  princi- 
ples I have  laid  down  are  basic  ones. 


Chapter  III 

Enclosure 


I HAVE  often  heard  the  opinion  expressed  that 
nothing  is  more  contrary  to  the  way  of  Nature 
— to  which,  after  all,  landscape  gardening  seeks 
to  conform  itself — than  the  enclosure  of  a park; 
but  I think  otherwise,  and  quite  approve  of  the 
English  fashion  of  having  every  park  enclosed 
with  great  care.  This  enclosure,  however,  should 
be  varied  and  in  large  part  it  should  not  be  felt 
inside  the  park.  At  bottom  this  question  of  en- 
closure is  rather  a matter  of  expediency  than  of 
esthetics,  and  yet  as  an  element  of  beauty  I do 
not  condemn  it.  Are  not  such  beautiful,  unculti- 
vated spots  marked  off  as  it  were  by  distinct 
boundaries,  and  does  not  such  a division  often 
increase  their  charm?  For  example,  a valley  shut 
in  by  a dense  forest  or  by  impassable  rocks,  an 
island  surrounded  by  running  water,  give  the  feel- 
ing of  home,  of  entire  possession,  of  security 
against  intrusion  or  disturbance,  allowing  us  to 
enjoy  all  the  more  comfortably  the  beauty  of  the 
surroundings.  And,  therefore,  in  a park  the  pres- 
ence of  a protecting  wall  or  fence  should  be  wel- 
comed as  a highly  desirable  element,  necessary, 
in  excluding  the  unwelcome  intruder,  for  the 
peace  and  security  of  our  enjoyment,  but  which 


26  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


should  be  so  designed  as  to  permit  our  going  out 
from  the  park  into  the  surrounding  country. 
Hence  the  sight  of  an  enclosure  can  be  obnox- 
ious only  to  those  who  hold  so  exaggerated  a 
notion  of  freedom  that,  hating  everything  that 
bears  the  name  of  barrier,  they  would  wish  to 
overturn  even  imaginary  barriers!  In  England, 
as  I have  said  before,  not  only  every  park,  but, 
on  account  of  the  precious  cattle,  every  section 
of  it,  every  coppice  and  every  exposed  young 
tree,  is  surrounded  with  a fence,  and  though, 
from  being  carried  to  excess,  this  disturbs  the 
general  effect,  I have  frequently  found  that  here 
and  there  a fence  is  very  picturesque,  especially 
where  the  character  of  the  landscape  changes,  the 
fence  then  preparing  the  mind  for  new  impres- 
sions and  affording  an  easy  transition  to  new  scenes. 

So  for  security’s  sake  let  our  parks  have  an  en- 
closure high  and  strong,  assuming  that  this  is 
possible — for,  to  be  sure,  just  as  French  cookery 
books  very  wisely  begin  their  receipts  with  “ Ayez 
une  carpe,  ayez  un  perdreau,  etc.,”  I preface  my 
advice  with  the  proviso  that,  locality  being  favor- 
able and  means  at  hand,  the  park  should  be  en- 
closed. But  inasmuch  as  the  heavier  and  bigger 
the  wall,  the  worse  as  a rule,  is  its  appearance,  and 
bearing  in  mind  also  that  it  is  a great  mistake  to 
limit  the  field  of  fancy  by  too  familiar  a view  of 
its  limits,  a close  and  broad  plantation  should 
hide  the  greater  part  of  it.  If  such  a barrier  is 
made  by  a wooden  fence,  it  should  never  be  seen, 
but  supplied  with  interesting  points  at  intervals. 


Enclosure 


27 


and  a deep  ha-ha  or  ditch  alongside,  while  all 
the  abruptness  of  the  hollow  thus  made  can  be 
avoided  by  covering  it  with  varied  plantations. 
The  paths  should  approach  this  ha-ha  or  ditch 
only  when — for  instance,  by  means  of  a small 
bridge  — one  wishes  to  sally  forth  through  an 
opening  into  the  surrounding  country.  The 
method  of  screening  the  bridge  and  the  bound- 
aries should  be  as  varied  as  possible.  In  one  place 
the  foliage  should  run  two  or  three  hundred  paces 
along  the  boundaries,  showing  a high  plantation 
of  trees;  in  other  places  again,  it  should  be  made 
up  of  narrower  and  lower  groups  of  trees,  so  that 
over  and  beyond  one  can  catch  glimpses  of  the 
outside  country.  In  other  places,  these  distant 
views  should  be  visible  above  coppices  and  under 
isolated  trees,  standing  among  but  high  above 
the  shrubbery.  If  a wall  surrounds  the  park,  this 
can,  at  intervals,  be  allowed  freely  to  emerge,  bro- 
ken only  by  scattering  bushes  and  trees,  and  will 
look  best  in  a ruined  or  unkempt  state,  covered 
with  ivy  and  Virginia  creeper,  or  the  foliage 
may  be  merged  into  a building,  a gallery,  etc. 
Under  such  conditions  the  wall  will  never  be  a 
disturbing  influence,  but  an  improvement. 

If  the  locality  permits, — probably  only  in  a 
few  cases,  — I would  propose  the  following  plan 
as  my  ideal  for  an  enclosure  for  our  climate, 
although  I could  follow  it  only  in  certain  por- 
tions of  my  estate.  On  the  boundaries  of  the 
park,  wherever  open  views  are  not  desirable,  a 
trench  one  Rutße  (a  rod  = twelve  feet)  wide,  should 


28  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


be  dug  and  sown  with  blackthorn  or  acacia  seed, 
which  even  in  poor  ground,  in  a few  years  makes 
an  impenetrable  mass.  Next  I should  set  a plan- 
tation of  firs,  mixed  with  a few  deciduous  leafed 
trees  and  bushes,  so  as  to  secure  variety  of  color 
in  summer.  For  the  portions  that  are  to  be  kept 
lower  we  must  in  our  climate  take  juniper,  yew, 
and  medium-sized  pine  trees,  and  perhaps  also 
the  ordinary  spruce  and  white  fir,  both  of  which 
may  easily  be  kept  low  by  trimming.  Along  this 
plantation  on  the  boundary,  sometimes  broad, 
sometimes  narrow,  but  hardly  ever  more  than 
three  Ruthen  (three  rods  = thirty-six  feet),  should 
run  irregularly  a grass  road  thirty-six  feet  wide. 
On  the  side  toward  the  interior  of  the  park  should 
begin  the  mixed  plantation  for  forming  a screen 
for  the  general  view.  Here  deciduous  leafed  trees 
should  predominate  and  in  summer  hide  the  too 
monotonous  evergreen  foliage  which  should  be 
left  conspicuous  only  where  it  is  desirable.  It  is 
surprising  how  such  an  arrangement  enlivens  a 
park  even  in  melancholy  winters,  and  how  the 
lawn  or  grass  path  even  amid  snow  and  ice,  where 
everything  else  is  bare,  makes  the  most  charming 
walk.  The  evergreen  foreground,  which  covers 
the  boundaries  both  winter  andsummerand  bor- 
ders the  grass  path,  gives  color  to  the  whole  re- 
gion, thus  supplying  a quality  much  desired  in 
winter  days;  'although  a well-grouped  and  de- 
signed park  should,  during  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
even  without  color  satisfy  our  sense  of  beauty, 
especially  in  winter,  when  all  ordinary  decora- 


Plate  I.  Grass  Paths  for  Boundary  of  Park 


Enclosure 


29 


tion  is  absent,  making  an  interesting  picture  by 
the  harmony  of  its  masses  of  trees,  lawns,  water, 
its  pleasant  lines  of  paths  and  banks.  That  the 
border  plantation  of  pines  and  other  evergreen 
trees  should  be  made  so  as  to  give  the  appear- 
ance of  a natural  growth  is  obvious,  and  in  the 
chapter  on  “ Plantations  ” examples  will  be  given 
in  detail.  Meanwhile  the  sketch  in  Plate  I will 
make  my  views  clearer.  At  0 the  green  path  from 
the  park  is  practically  hidden ; at  ^ it  appears  only 
as  a cutting  which  loses  itself  in  the  shrubbery. 

Along  the  boundary  wall  of  many  English 
parks,  carrying  out  in  old  times  the  work  of 
Brown  and  his  followers,  there  runs  a path  be- 
tween an  almost  regular  band  of  foliage  planted 
with  shrubs  and  trees,  so  that  the  wall  is  often 
conspicuous  between  the  tree-trunks.  Brown  may 
be  called  the  Shakespeare  of  the  art  of  garden- 
ing, but  his  work,  while  highly  beautiful  and 
poetical,  was  often  crude,  angular,  and  uncouth. 
This  criticism  is  especially  applicable  to  the  work 
of  those  who,  undertaking  to  follow  his  teach- 
ing, often  imitated  only  his  faults  and  were  seldom 
able  to  achieve  his  beauties. 

My  reader  must  not  confound  my  plan  with 
this  English  plan,  as  the  green  path  that  I advo- 
cate is  a part  of  the  lawn,  and  has  no  definite  dis- 
tinction from  the  lawn,  but  simply  melts  into  it. 
The  English  idea  originated  in  the  infancy  of 
landscape  gardening,  when  parks  of  such  size 
were  first  laid  out,  and  when  it  was  a matter  of 
vanity  to  make  them  appear  as  large  as  possible; 


30  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


but  the  means  defeated  the  end,  since  they  osten- 
tatiously pointed  out  what  they  should  have  ar- 
tistically concealed.  Apart  from  this  enclosure, 
which  is  necessary  for  protection,  it  is  obvious 
that  every  interesting  feature  of  the  distant  land- 
scape should  be  included  in  the  park,  all  outer 
rays  concentrating  into  this  focus.  Distant  views 
of  great  extent,  lying  away  beyond  the  actual 
grounds,  give  an  appearance  ot  measureless  extent. 
When  such  opportunities  are  skillfully  utilized, 
they  greatly  surpass  the  reality.  They  must,  how- 
ever, be  so  managed  that  one  should  never  be- 
come aware  of  the  intervening  park  boundaries. 
Moreover,  such  special  features  should  never  be 
seen  twice  in  the  same  way.  For  instance,  many 
partial  glimpses  may  be  given  of  a distant  hill, 
but  only  once  should  the  hill  be  revealed  in  its 
entirety.  The  same  applies  to  the  town  or  city. 
Such  effective  planning,  affording  glimpses  which 
tempt  one’s  imagination  and  excite  the  pleasure 
of  anticipation,  and  compositions  in  which  each 
part  is  interdependent,  are  far  more  difficult  to 
achieve  than  full  revelations.  When  people  stum- 
ble on  a remarkably  beautiful  view  and,  after  lin- 
gering long,  remark,  “What  a pity  that  great  tree 
stands  in  the  foreground,  how  much  grander  the 
view  would  be  if  it  were  absent,”  they  would  be 
much  astonished  if  one  did  them  the  service  to 
hew  away  the  tree.  They  would  have  a stretch 
of  country  before  them,  but  no  longer  a picture 
— for  a garden  in  the  great  style  is  really  a pic- 
ture gallery,  and  a picture  demands  a frame. 


Chapter  IV 

Grouping  in  General^  and  Buildings 


IN  a landscape  to  be  created,  nearly  all  objects, 
large  as  well  as  small,  call  for  a well-considered 
grouping.  The  best  guide  here  is  innate  taste. 
Later  on  I will  give  some  instructions  as  re- 
gards details,  and  will  formulate  here  only  the 
following  general  rule:  If  the  lights  and  shadows 
are  arranged  in  due  proportion  in  the  picture,  the 
grouping  as  a whole  will  be  successful.  Grass- 
plots,  water,  and  fields,  which  do  not  themselves 
throw  any  shadow,  but  only  receive  it  from 
other  objects,  are  lights  in  the  hands  of  the 
landscape  artist,  while  trees,  forests,  and  houses 
(and  rocks  where  they  can  be  used)  must  serve 
as  shadows.  The  unpleasant  effect  should  be 
avoided  of  restlessness  and  dispersion  arising 
from  an  excess  of  detail  and  too  much  inter- 
rupted light;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  pic- 
ture should  not  be  darkened  by  a few  immense 
blotches  of  shadow,  nor  should  the  meadows  and 
the  water  present  too  great  an  expanse  of  level 
space,  but  should  be  laid  out  so  as  to  be  lost  to 
view  here  and  there  in  dark  groups  of  vegetation, 
or  so  as  to  appear  suddenly  as  carefully  calcu- 
lated points  of  light  amid  the  darker  ground- 
work. Buildings  should  never  stand  freely  ex- 


32 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


posed,  lest  they  appear  as  spots,  unconnected  with 
the  natural  surroundings.  Concealment  enhances 
beauty,  and  here  something  should  always  be  left 
to  the  imagination.  The  eye  frequently  finds 
more  pleasure  in  a single  chimney  in  the  dis- 
tance, with  its  spiral  of  gray  smoke  curling  up- 
ward against  a background  of  trees,  than  in  a 
bare  palace  exposed  to  view  on  all  sides,  which 
Nature  has  not  yet  lovingly  approached  and  em- 
braced. It  is  highly  important  that  buildings 
should  always  take  on  the  character  of  the  land- 
scape in  which  they  figure.*  Many  of  our  Ger- 
man architects  regard  this  too  little.  Buildings  in 
a city,  for  instance,  must  be  different  from  build- 
ings in  a park.  In  the  one  case  they  are  com- 
plete in  themselves ; in  the  other,  they  are  only 
a component  part  of  the  whole  and  are  depend- 
ent on  it  for  picturesque  effect,  which  they  in 
turn  are  also  called  upon  to  produce;  hence  their 
effect  in  the  landscape  must  be  carefully  studied. 

In  general,  a certain  irregularity  is  preferable 
in  buildings  in  a park,  as  being  more  in  conform- 
ity with  Nature  and  more  picturesque.  A temple 
devoted  to  a cult,  a theater,  a museum  devoted 
to  art,  doubtless  demand  symmetry  and  a more 
severe  style,  but  the  mansion  or  villa  gains  by 
greater  irregularity,  in  comfort  as  well  as  in  pic- 
turesqueness. This  same  principle  appears  in  the 

' A contrast  may  also  occasionally  fit  in  with  the  character  of  the 
whole,  but  it  must  always  harmonize,  as  I have  pointed  out  in  the  ex- 
ample in  the  last  section  : the  sublimity  of  wild  nature  and  magnificent 
art.  A pretty  villa  would  not  be  a fitting  contrast,  while  an  imposing 
ruin  would  present  an  analogy,  but  no  contrast. 


Goethe’s  Garden  House  at  Weimar 


Grouping  in  General,  and  Buildings  33 


designs  of  the  ancient  villas  and  country  houses, 
as  we  may  gather  from  the  ruins.  The  most  note- 
worthy example  is  perhaps  the  villa  of  Hadrian 
near  Tivoli.  Traces  of  this  principle  are  also 
found  in  the  Italy  of  the  Renaissance,  in  the  fif- 
teenth and  sixteenth  centuries:  buildings  half 
hidden  by  others,  large  and  small  windows  on  the 
same  face  of  the  building,  side  doors,  projecting 
and  receding  corners,  occasionally  a high,  bare 
wall  with  a richly  ornamented  cornice,  roofs  jut- 
ting out,  and  balconies  unsymmetrically  placed, 
in  short,  everywhere  a great  but  by  no  means  in- 
harmonious irregularity,  which  pleases  the  fancy 
because  the  reason  for  every  departure  from  reg- 
ularity is  evident  or  may  be  surmised. 

The  site  of  a building  must  also  be  carefully 
considered.  For  instance,  a feudal  castle  in  the 
midst  of  a level  field  of  grain,  as  we  find  at  Ma- 
chern near  Leipzig,  appears  somewhat  comical ; 
and  so  is  the  Egyptian  pyramid  which  is  to  be 
found  there  in  the  idyllic  surroundings  of  a gay 
birch  wood.  As  well  imagine  a straw-thatched 
hut  surrounded  by  a French  parterre.  All  these 
are  undesirable  contrasts  that  destroy  the  har- 
mony. For  example,  pointed  Gothic  buildings 
would  make  an  unfavorable  impression  if  set 
among  spruces  and  Lombardy  poplars,  while 
among  oaks,  beeches,  and  pines  they  would  be 
quite  in  place.  On  the  other  hand,  spruces  and 
poplars  harmonize  with  the  horizontal  lines  of 
an  Oriental  villa. 

The  importance  of  harmonious  beauty  has  for 


34  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


its  corollary  that  the  purpose  of  a building  must 
be  evident  in  its  style.  A Gothic  house,  for  in- 
stance, which  is  nothing  else  and  has  no  other 
significance,  being  built  just  for  the  sake  of  hav- 
ing something  Gothic  on  the  grounds,  produces 
a feeling  of  dissatisfaction.  It  is  a hors  d' ceuvre^ 
uncomfortable  as  a dwelling,  and  as  a decoration 
unrelated  to  its  surroundings  ; but  if  we  see  on  a 
distant  hill  the  spires  of  a chapel  rising  above 
the  ancient  trees,  and  we  are  told  that  this  is  the 
burial-place  of  the  family,  or  a temple  actually 
used  for  worship,  then  we  feel  satisfied,  because 
we  find  utility  combined  with  fitting  beauty. 

The  same  effect  of  dissatisfaction  is  produced 
by  an  immense  palace  set  on  a small  estate,  sur- 
rounded by  the  huts  of  poverty,  or  a vast  park 
with  an  insignificant  cottage  in  the  center. 

Buildings,  then,  must  stand  in  appropriate  re- 
lation to  their  surroundings  and  should  always 
have  a positive  purpose.  Hence,  one  should  be 
very  careful  in  the  matter  of  temples,  which  in 
ancient  times  had  a quite  different,  popular  re- 
ligious significance,  and  also  with  meaningless 
monuments,  if  they  are  to  leave  a deeply  moving 
and  not  a trivial  impression.  The  trite,  incoher- 
ent manner  in  which  in  these  days  mythology  is 
taken  up,  makes  it  desirable  to  abandon  it  en- 
tirely, and  similarly  to  refrain  from  the  rule  of 
inscriptions  which  are  intended  in  certain  locali- 
ties to  arouse  certain  sentiments.  Even  were  they 
from  Goethe  himself,  as  in  Weimar,  these  in- 
dubitably find  in  his  writings  a better  place. 


Grouping  in  General,  and  Buildings  35 


Only  where  they  are  occasionally  necessary,  as 
on  the  finger-post  at  a crossroad,  does  one  thank- 
fully acknowledge  the  required  direction.  The 
most  amusing  example  under  this  heading  must 
surely  be  the  one  represented  in  the  “ Gardeners’ 
Magazine  ” by  a fine  drawing  of  a bench  dedi- 
cated to  friendship,  whose  back  forms  the  words 
“ Orestes  and  Pylades.”  Near  it  stands  a music 
pavilion,  crenelated  with  music  notes,  from 
which  the  passer-by  can  at  once  sing  “ Freut 
euch  des  Lebens”  as  he  goes.  Such  a lesson  is 
splendid,  for  it  brings  culture  within  the  scope 
of  the  most  limited  intelligence. 

In  England  also  one  is  not  free  from  such  ab- 
surdities. Thus,  I found,  in  an  otherwise  very 
pretty  villa  near  London,  in  the  shrubbery  a 
plump,  wooden,  white-daubed  Amor,  with  puffed 
cheeks,  hanging  by  ropes  between  branches,  and 
threatening  to  shoot  the  passer-by  with  his  arrow; 
and  twenty  steps  farther  on  some  apes  of  the 
same  material,  which  played  on  the  lawn  like  fos- 
silized figures.  On  inquiry  I found  that  the  taste- 
ful grounds  belonged  to  a newly  wed  young 
brewer  who  had  just  returned  from  the  Conti- 
nent with  his  bride;  hence  Amor  and  the  Apes 
were  sufficiently  explained! 

The  most  important  building  in  the  park  is 
naturally  the  dwelling-house.  It  should  be  suited, 
not  only  to  the  surroundings,  but  also  to  the  posi- 
tion, the  means,  and  even  to  the  calling  of  the 
owner.  The  roomy  castle  and  its  battlements  and 
towers  are  perhaps  unsuitable  to  the  merchant. 


36  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


but  quite  becoming  to  the  noble  aristocrat,  the 
fame  of  whose  family  has  been  handed  down  for 
centuries,  and  whose  forefathers  really  needed 
them  to  make  strongholds  of  their  abode.  The 
elder  Repton  (Amenity  Repton,  so-named)  went 
so  far  as  to  hide  entirely  with  trees  the  fine  view 
of  the  city  of  Bristol,  in  order  that  the  owner  of 
a certain  villa,  a merchant  who  had  retired  from 
business,  should  not  be  unpleasantly  reminded  of 
his  past  cares  and  worries  by  beholding  the  city 
where  he  had  spent  his  laborious  days.  This  is 
thoroughly  English,  as  well  as  the  endeavor  of 
many  egotists  there  to  hide  from  view  everything 
that  belongs  to  their  place,  no  matter  how  pic- 
turesque it  is.  Without  going  so  far,  I will  say 
here  that  the  view  from  the  dwelling-house 
should  harmonize  as  much  as  possible  with  the 
individual  taste  of  the  owner,  since  the  eye  al- 
ways rests  on  it,  and  hence  the  view  of  the  house 
should  be  secondary  to  the  view  from  the  house, 
while  the  reverse  might  hold  good  for  most  of 
the  other  buildings  of  the  park. 

I will  remark  here,  by  the  way,  that  the  points 
of  the  compass  should  also  be  considered.  A per- 
son in  our  climate  occupying  the  north  side  of 
a dwelling  will  often  hear  the  storm  winds  howl, 
and  will  behold  all  objects  under  a somber  veil, 
while  his  neighbor  who  occupies  the  south  side 
beholds  a clear  sky  and  a sunlit  landscape. 

Where  there  are  genuine  old  castles,  or  manor 
houses,  which  have  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
family  for  a long  time  (not  new  buildings  in  imi- 


Warwick  Castle 


Grouping  in  General,  and  Buildings  37 


tation  of  an  old  style),  1 am  of  the  opinion  that 
their  ancient  character  should  be  preserved  when 
they  are  enlarged  or  made  more  comfortable, 
even  if  a much  finer  building  might  be  erected 
on  the  spot.  The  memory  of  a by-gone  time, 
the  majesty  of  years,  also  counts  for  something, 
and  it  is  a real  misfortune  that  our  pasteboard 
age  has  destroyed  so  many  of  these  relics.  Thus, 
quite  recently  a splendid  castle  in  my  neighbor- 
hood, the  possession  of  one  of  the  first  nobles  of 
the  land,  was  pulled  down  at  great  cost  and  sup- 
planted by  a three-cornered  structure  resembling 
a Leipzig  goods  store  built  by  an  up-to-date 
architect,  in  which  the  yard  measure,  flanked  by 
bales  and  cases,  would  have  been  the  only  appro- 
priate insignia. 

The  English  have  not  yet  been  guilty  of  this 
folly,  and  nowhere  else  are  family  possessions 
more  religiously  and  more  proudly  preserved. 
We  also  find  there  many  estates  of  mere  bour- 
geois families  which  for  more  than  six  centuries 
have  passed  from  father  to  son,  and  with  so  little 
change  in  general  that,  for  instance,  in  Malahide 
in  Ireland,  the  family  seat  of  the  Talbots,  even 
the  woodwork  and  the  furniture  of  entire  apart- 
ments date  back  to  those  early  years.  And  who 
can  behold  the  splendors  of  majestic  Warwick 
Castle,  with  its  colossal  tower  a thousand  years 
old,  or  the  royal  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Northum- 
berland, without  feeling  penetrated  with  romantic 
awe,  and  without  delighting  in  the  matchless 
beauty  of  these  grand  piles? 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a mistake  to  erect 
buildings  intended  for  peaceable  dwellings  in  the 
style  of  a castle  or  stronghold.  The  most  costly 
examples  of  this  kind  in  England  are  Eatonhall 
and  Ashridge,  where  millions  have  been  spent 
in  creating  a child’s  toy,  immense  fortresses  set 
in  flower  gardens,  whose  innumerable  turrets  and 
battlements  looking  down  upon  the  hothouses 
filled  with  exotic  plants  seem  ludicrous,  and  whose 
owners,  in  the  words  of  a waggish  traveler,  should 
walk  about  their  pleasure-grounds  like  Don 
Quixote,  with  shield  and  armor,  to  be  in  har- 
mony with  their  buildings.  A dallying  with 
things  Gothic  is  as  silly  as  a man  in  second  child- 
hood. 


Chapter  V 

Parks  and  Gardens 


PARKS  and  gardens  are  two  very  different 
things,  and  it  is  perhaps  one  öf  the  chief 
drawbacks  of  all  the  German  and  English  grounds 
that  I know,  that  this  distinction  is  almost  never 
sufficiently  observed,  so  that,  as  Milliner  says,  we 
too  frequently  meet  with  only  a hodge-podge 
of  art  and  nonsense.  Although  the  term  “ park” 
in  the  larger  sense  is  generally  applied  to  the  en- 
tire landscape  design  of  the  region,  including 
all  dwellings,  it  really  means,  more  accurately  de- 
fined, a combination  of  “ pleasure-grounds”  and 
gardens  within  the  larger  area  of  the  main  park.* 
The  park  must  have  the  character  of  untrammeled 
Nature,  where  the  hand  of  man  is  visible  only  in 
the  well-kept  roads  and  the  judiciously  scattered 
buildings.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  a lack  of 
taste  to  ignore  the  human  element  altogether, 
and,  in  order  to  keep  the  illusion  of  wild  Nature, 
to  have  to  wade  through  the  tall  grass  and  tear 
one’s  self  on  thorns  in  the  woods,  and  come  upon 

* The  word  “pleasure-ground”  is  difficult  to  translate  accurately 
into  German,  and  I therefore  consider  it  better  to  retain  the  English 
expression;  it  means  a terrain,  abutting  on  the  house  and  decorated 
and  fenced  in,  of  far  larger  dimensions  than  gardens  usually  are;  some- 
thing that  establishes  a gradation  between  the  park  and  the  true  garden, 
which  should  appear  to  be  really  a part  of  the  house. 


40  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


a bench  for  the  weary  without  a rest  for  the  back, 
although  Rousseau  recommends  all  this.  Such 
grounds  should  represent  Nature,  it  is  true,  but 
Nature  arranged  for  the  use  and  comfort  of  man. 
If  one  can  bring  within  the  park  a manor  house 
with  its  fields  adjoining,  a mill  or  a factory,  this 
will  give  it  only  the  more  life  and  variety,  which 
is  much  to  be  recommended;  on  the  other  hand, 
one  must  be  careful  not  to  overdo  it.  In  order  to 
avoid  the  latter,  one  should  endeavor  to  separate 
the  different  elements  by  a harmonious  arrange- 
ment of  the  various  parts  of  the  whole,  and  not 
mingle  them  awkwardly  with  one  another. 

The  fields,  for  instance,  should  be  massed  in 
the  farm  and  not  scattered  all  over  the  park ; 
everything  should  be  allotted  its  distinct  place 
and  maintain  its  peculiar  characteristics,  and  the 
transition  should  be  appropriately  defined.  But 
if  various  objects  have  already  approached  too 
near  each  other,  or  if  they  are  required  for  other 
purposes,  then,  in  order  to  avoid  overloading 
and  confusion,  let  everything  be  given  as  much 
as  possible  the  same  character.  In  my  park,*  for 
example,  a fisherman’s  hut  leaning  against  high 
oaks  is  set  beside  a lake  formed  by  a branch  of 

' I will  repeat  here  that  I so  frequently  refer  to  my  own  park,  not 
in  a spirit  of  boastfulness,  but  because  I can,  of  course,  find  no  better 
illustrations  for  my  theories,  and  I am  also  obliged  to  describe,  as  act- 
ually existing,  things  which  are  not  in  reality  completed,  but  which  are 
in  process  of  construction  and  determined  on  the  plans,  as  far  as  I have 
made  them,  because  they  have  been  sufficiently  tried.  I must  do  this 
for  the  sake  of  brevity,  and  also  because  I should  otherwise  have  to 
wait  ten  more  years  before  publishing  this  book,  in  which  time,  I hope, 
it  might  appear  superfluous. 


Parks  and  Gardens 


41 


the  river ; somewhat  higher  up,  not  quite  two 
hundred  feet  from  the  bank,  which  is  steeper 
here,  there  is  a wax  bleachery ; quite  close  to 
this,  are  an  ice-house  and  the  lodge  of  a park 
keeper ; farther  away  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  still  in  the  same  vista,  and  apparently  near, 
is  an  English  cottage;  and  behind  are  seen  the 
thatched  roofs  of  the  village,  and,  crowning  all, 
the  spire  of  the  village  church. 

If  all  these  objects,  which  serve  entirely  dif- 
ferent purposes,  and  are  either  really  very  close 
together  or  are  made  to  appear  so  from  the  road 
by  optical  illusion,  were  built,  each  one  in  a dif- 
ferent style,  they  would  be  a perfect  salamagundi, 
offensive  to  good  taste.  In  order  to  obviate  this, 
it  was  only  necessary  to  have  all  the  buildings, 
with  slight  variations,  preserve  the  rustic  char- 
acter of  the  village,  which  is  the  dominating 
feature  of  this  plot,  and  to  cover  the  English 
cottage,  the  fisherman’s  hut,  the  bleachery,  and 
the  ice-house,  like  the  village,  with  straw  or 
some  other  rustic  covering.  Thus,  the  plot  ap- 
pears as  one  integral  part  of  the  park,  as  a pleas- 
ant little  village  spreading  out  on  both  sides  of 
the  river,  inhabited  by  well-to-do  villagers.  I 
have  thus  produced  unity  out  of  multiplicity ; 
twenty  buildings,  each  with  a character  of  its 
own,  scattered  over  the  landscape,  look  like 
twenty  separate  objects,  while  a city  of  ten  thou- 
sand connected  houses  forms  a simple  unit  in  its 
general  effect. 

Should  the  view  embrace  a stretch  of  land- 


42  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


scape,  it  is  true  that  heterogeneous  objects  might 
without  detriment  be  visible  at  one  glance,  yet 
the  imagination  can  never  succeed  in  accepting 
with  satisfaction  (what  has  been  attempted  in 
many  parks,  famous  in  their  time)  the  conjunc- 
tion of  a Chinese  tower  with  a Gothic  church, 
two  or  three  Greek  temples,  a Russian  block- 
house, a ruined  castle,  a Dutch  farmhouse,  with, 
perhaps,  a volcano  thrown  in,  all  being  part  of 
one  picture.  In  contemplating  such  a scene,  no 
matter  how  beautiful  the  setting,  taste  could  not 
but  suffer  from  artistic  indigestion ! 

On  the  other  hand,  the  principles  which  should 
be  established  for  the  “pleasure-ground”  and 
gardens  are  entirely  different ; the  latter  may  be 
as  varied  as  possible,  as  flower  gardens,  winter 
gardens,  orchards,  vineyards,  vegetable  gardens, 
etc.  In  England  I saw  exotic  gardens,  Chinese 
gardens,  American  gardens,  monastic,  and  even 
porcelain,  gardens. 

I may  repeat  here  with  some  variation  what 
I have  said  before:  as  the  park  is  Nature  ideal- 
ized within  a small  compass,  so  the  garden  is  an 
extended  dwelling.  Here  the  tastes  of  the  owner 
may  have  free  play,  following  his  imagination 
and  indulging  even  in  trivialities.'  Everything 
should  be  decorative,  designed  for  comfort,  and 

* Of  course  there  may  be  things  that  are  obvious  absurdities.  In  a 
garden  in  Vienna,  for  instance,  I saw  a house  in  the  shape  of  a tub  in 
which  sits  an  immense  Diogenes  of  cardboard,  who  seems  to  have  just 
extinguished  his  light  in  deference  to  the  spectator;  or  elsewhere  a 
bench,  where  a person  who  sits  down  upon  it  is  drenched,  after  a few 
minutes,  with  a squirt  of  water,  and  other  like  impertinences. 


Parks  and  Gardens 


43 


as  ornamental  as  the  means  permit.  Let  the  lawns 
appear  as  a velvet  carpet  embroidered  with  flow- 
ers ; gather  together  the  rarest  and  the  most 
beautiful  exotic  plants,  curious  animals,  multi- 
colored birds  ‘ (provided  that  Nature  or  art  will 
enable  them  to  thrive)  ; polished  benches,  re- 
freshing fountains,  the  cool  shades  of  dense  ave- 
nues, order  and  fancy;  in  short,  everything  in 
turn  to  evoke  the  richest  and  most  varied  effects, 
just  as  one  furnishes  every  salon  in  the  interior 
of  a house  in  a different  style.  Thus,  one  may 
continue  the  suite  of  rooms  on  a greater  scale 
under  the  open  sky,  whose  blue  vault,  with  ever- 
renewed  cloud  canopy,  takes  the  place  of  the 
painted  ceiling,  and  in  which  sun  and  moon  are 
the  perpetual  illumination.  To  draw  up  rules  for 
such  details  is  more  in  the  province  of  the  dec- 
orative gardener,  still  more  of  the  individual 
taste  of  the  master,  and  perhaps  most  of  all  should 
be  left  to  the  delicate  taste  and  delightful  fancy 
of  women.  Hence,  as  regards  this  point  I shall 
only  make  some  general  remarks. 

It  is  essential  that  the  confines  of  each  garden, 
in  which  I always  include  the  “ pleasure-ground,” 
for  the  sake  of  security  should  have  an  enclosure 
which  separates  it  from  the  park. 

If  the  locality  allows  of  a high  terrace,  or  a 
continuous  ha-ha,  this  would,  in  most  cases,  be 

‘ But  there  must  be  no  superfluity,  nor  any  trace  of  dirt  or  odors, 
and  if  this  cannot  be  so  managed,  then  the  menagerie  should  be  re- 
moved; for  curiosities  which  can  be  admired  only  with  the  handker- 
chief at  the  nose  are  undesirable  in  a place  which  should  be  devoted 
only  to  the  comfortable  enjoyment  of  beauty. 


44  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  best  enclosure  for  a “pleasure-garden,”  and 
regular  lines  that  are  not  concealed,  but  quite 
visibly  mark  the  difference,  are  here  to  be  recom- 
mended ; for  a garden  is  the  occasion  for  very 
obvious  art,  and  must  therefore  appear  as  such. 
While  this  barrier  keeps  out  of  the  gardens  the 
cattle  or  the  deer  grazing  in  the  park,  or  visibly 
divides  from  them  the  meadows  intended  only 
for  hay,  the  eye  dwells  with  pleasure,  first,  upon 
the  rich  colors  of  the  foreground,  with  its  wealth 
of  flowers  and  the  emerald  carpets  of  carefully 
kept  lawns,  and  beyond,  upon  the  open  land- 
scape with  its  imposing  trees  or  the  waving 
grasses  sown  with  wild  flowers,  where  the  mow- 
ers swing  their  glittering  scythes  in  the  sun  or 
repose  at  noon  in  the  fragrant  hay.  This  contrast 
between  free  Nature  and  artistic  cultivation,  vis- 
ibly separated  and  yet  melting  into  one  harmo- 
nious picture,  is  doubly  soothing  to  the  feelings. 

It  depends  on  the  locality  whether  all  the  dif- 
ferent gardens  (and  the  more  there  are  the  more 
pleasing  effect  of  variety  they  produce)  shall  be 
enclosed  in  one  large  space,  most  fittingly  near 
the  dwelling-house,  or  whether  they  shall  be 
scattered  about  the  park.  I have  pursued  a mid- 
dle course,  extending  the  “pleasure-ground”  all 
around  the  castle,  and  not,  as  is  generally  done  in 
England,  only  on  one  side;  the  flower  gardens  ap- 
proach close  to  the  windows,  a conservatory  open- 
ing from  the  salon  forming  a connecting  link ; 
then  at  a little  distance,  as  a plot  by  itself,  but 
still  within  the  circumference  of  the  “ pleasure- 


Bird’s-Eye  View  of  Versailles 


Parks  and  Gardens 


45 


ground,”  the  Orangerie,  the  winter  garden,  the 
conservatories,  and  the  vegetable  gardens ; but 
the  orchards,  the  vineyard,  and  the  nurseries  I 
have  distributed,  at  a distance  from  the  castle, 
through  the  park;  moreover,  I have  laid  out  sev- 
eral smaller  gardens,  in  different  styles,  around 
the  other  principal  buildings  of  the  park,  which 
I will  describe  more  in  detail  farther  on. 

Although  all  these  gardens  are  decorated  here 
and  there  by  scattered  flower  beds,  the  great  mass 
and  variety  of  flowers  are  reserved  for  the  flower 
gardens  proper.  I repeat  here  that  the  selection 
and  distribution  of  the  flowers  must  be  left  to  the 
individual  taste  of  the  owner,  though  I will  say 
in  passing  that  flowers  of  the  same  kind  in  large 
masses  generally  make  a far  more  impressive 
effect  than  a mixture  of  many  different  kinds  in 
the  same  bed.  Yet  the  nuances  are  so  various,  and 
there  is  so  much  to  be  considered  in  the  design- 
ing, that  only  years  of  practice  and  experience 
will  give  the  best.  The  light  cast  upon  the  flow- 
ers by  the  surrounding  objects  is  a prime  consid- 
eration. A rose  in  shadow  and  a rose  in  light 
yield  quite  different  colors;  much  more  the 
blue  flowers.  But  especially  striking  is  the  effect 
brought  about  by  the  contrast  of  dark  shade  with 
bright  sunlight  on  full  white  flowers  mixed  with 
others  of  brilliant  color.  Generally  speaking,  it 
is  advisable  to  break  strong-tinted  flowers  with 
white,  in  order  to  make  the  former  stand  out  in 
stronger  relief. 

A winter  garden,  as  the  name  implies,  must 


46  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


be  confined  to  evergreen  plants,  and  in  our  cold 
climate  it  is  very  difficult  to  grow  any  variety. 
Orangeries  and  hothouses  belong  to  them  ; also 
statues  and  fountains,  which,  even  when  the  water 
freezes,  do  not  lose  their  picturesque  character. 
Regular  arrangements  after  ancient  models,  or 
French  taste  growing  therefrom  yield  the  best 
results,  and  if  the  effect  of  turf  is  desired,  then 
evergreen  creeping  plants  or  the  bright  green 
dwarf  bilberry  and  cranberry  plants  may  be  util- 
ized. I can  only  touch  slightly  on  these  points, 
partly  on  account  of  the  numerous  details  which 
lie  out  of  the  scope  of  this  work,  and  partly  be- 
cause further  remarks  will  be  forthcoming  in  my 
description  of  the  park  at  Muskau. 

I close  this  chapter,  therefore,  with  the  re- 
mark that  kitchen  and  fruit  gardens,  although 
essentially  for  use,  can  be  made  pleasing  to  the 
eye  by  the  happy  arrangement  of  the  beds  of  the 
first,  and  in  the  second  by  the  training  of  fruit 
trees  en  espalier  or  by  the  trellising  of  them  on 
walls  (see  Table  I c)  ; by  convenient  paths,  and 
by  the  utmost  cleanliness  and  order,  so  that  one 
may  here  enjoy  the  warm  sunlight  in  the  spring, 
or  later  in  the  year  pluck  the  ripest  fruit.  In 
England,  where  everything  is  made  to  serve  the 
utmost  convenience,  strawberries  are  planted  in 
terraces  near  the  paths,  to  be  reached  without 
troublesome  stooping.  And  raised  paths  are  made 
under  the  fruit  trees,  so  that  cherries  and  apples 
grow  on  the  level  of  the  stroller.  Several  lengths 
of  wall  are  built  in  the  middle  of  the  kitchen 


Parks  and  Gardens 


47 


garden,  affording,  not  only  a protected  sunny  side, 
but  also  a shady  side,  and  all  kinds  of  fruit  trees 
are  skillfully  trained  on  them.  English  fruit,  even 
in  the  open,  gets  too  little  sunlight,  and  the  ripest 
are  still,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Due  de  Langeais, 
the  cooked  apples.* 

' The  well-known  saying  was,  “ Qu’en  Angleterre  il  n’y  avait  de 
poll  que  I’acier  et  ne  fruits  murs  que  les  pommes  cuites.”  (“  There  is 
in  England  nothing  polished  but  steel,  and  no  ripe  fruit  but  the  baked 
apple.”) 


Chapter  VI 

Concerning  the  Laying-out  of  the  Lawns  of  Parks 
Meadows,  and  Gardens 


WHAT  the  gold  backgrounds  of  the  old 
masters,  which  set  out  the  sweet,  lovable 
faces  of  madonnas  and  saints  in  so  ideal  a manner, 
are  to  religious  pictures,  green,  luxuriant  grass 
spaces  are  to  a landscape.  They  are,  as  it  were,  the 
canvas  of  Nature-painting,  the  playground  where 
the  sun  disports  an  element  of  brightness  which 
sets  out  the  whole  landscape.  Green  grass  en- 
hances the  freshness  of  the  entire  landscape  and 
furnishes  a carpet  for  the  sun  to  shine  upon, 
whereas  an  arid,  gray  heath  appears  like  a shroud 
even  in  the  most  beautiful  spot.  But  while  the 
grass  plot  should  be  green,  it  should  not  be 
marshy,  being  thereby  rendered  inaccessible,  nor 
so  soft  and  spongy  that  horses  and  wagons  leave 
their  tracks  in  passing  over,  thereby  spoiling  its 
appearance  for  months  after.  Although  the  latter 
cannot  be  wholly  avoided  in  the  first  weeks  after 
laying  the  plot  out,  especially  in  wet  weather, 
yet  if  the  grass  is  well  kept  it  soon  acquires  a firm 
texture,  even  in  light  soil. 

For  the  making  of  lawns  I can  recommend 
the  following  rules,  which  the  experience  of  sev- 
eral years  in  my  neighborhood  has  confirmed : — 


The  Laying-out  of  Lawns 


49 


(1)  Whether  in  a meadow  or  for  a park  or 
pleasure-ground  it  is  of  no  avail  to  sow  only  one 
kind  of  grass  seed.  With  only  one  kind  of  grass, 
perennial  or  not,  it  is  not  possible  to  secure  a 
close  grass  texture. 

(2)  For  the  first  two  — namely,  meadows  and 
park  — I consider  the  richest  mixture  to  be  the 
best,  but  with  this  proviso,  that  the  particular 
kind  of  grass  which  experience  has  found  to  be 
the  most  suitable  to  the  special  soil  should  dom- 
inate, to  the  extent  of  a third  to  a half  of  the 
mixture.  In  wet  ground  the  greater  part  should 
be  timothy  [Phleum  pratense)  \ for  heavy  soil,  rye 
grass  [Lolium  perenne) ; for  loam,  yellow  clover 
[Medicago  lupulina)  and  French  rye  grass  [Ar- 
rhenatherum  elatius') ; for  light  soil,  honey  or  vel- 
vet grass  [Holcus  lanatus) ; for  high  ground,  white 
clover  {Trifolium  repens') ^ etc. 

(3)  If  the  plot  that  is  to  be  sown  is  dry,  it  is 
advisable  to  trench  it  twelve  to  eighteen  inches 
first,  whatever  the  soil  may  be,  but  the  top  soil 
must  be  spread  over  the  surface  again  if  the  soil 
below  is  inferior,  and  a sandy  soil  must  of  course 
be  improved  by  muck,  compost,  or  field  soil.  If 
the  expense  of  digging  trenches  is  too  great,  then 
one  must  plough  to  at  least  the  usual  depth,  and 
in  most  cases  still  deeper  with  a subsoil  plough. 
The  field  so  prepared  should  be  sown  (herefrom 
the  middle  of  August  to  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber) in  rather  moist  weather  and  very  thickly, 
and  the  seed  at  once  well  rolled  in.  On  heavy 
soil  it  is  best  to  wait  for  a dry  day.  By  the  end 


50  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


of  October  the  most  beautiful  green  will  cover 
the  new  meadows.  The  next  year  they  should 
be  mowed  quite  early,  in  order  to  obtain  an  even 
growth,  but  the  seed  should  be  allowed  to  ripen 
and  fall  to  the  ground,  thus  securing  a greater 
density  of  turf  for  the  following  year.  Nothing 
more  is  now  necessary  than  to  roll  it  well  every 
year  after  each  mowing,  and  every  three  or  four 
years,  as  may  be  required,  to  fertilize  it  plenti- 
fully with  a compost  field  soil,  muck,  or  with 
manure.  In  this  manner,  on  light  dry  soil  and 
to  the  surprise  of  many  landowners,  I have  pro- 
duced the  most  luxurious  meadow,  which,  in- 
stead of  giving  out  in  ten  years  as  was  prophe- 
sied, steadily  improved,  and  from  a pecuniary 
point  of  view  has  proved  quite  a good  invest- 
ment, as  in  four  years  the  capital  spent  on  it  has 
been  repaid. 

(4)  Marshy  ground  should  first  be  dried,  for 
which  the  English  method  of  underground  drains 
is  the  best.  This  consists  of  large  hollow  tiles 
laid  on  flat  tiles  (bricks),  making  durable  little 
canals,  which  are  not  constantly  choked  by  debris, 
as  is  the  case  with  drains  made  by  filling  ditches 
with  brushwood  and  stones.  If  one  has  plenty 
of  rapidly  flowing  water,  one  may  often  devise 
charming  open  waterways,  which  drain  off  the 
water  even  better  than  the  tiles,  and  make  a most 
attractive  feature  in  the  landscape.  If  cleverly 
constructed  in  a natural  way,  they  will  improve 
instead  of  disfiguring  the  prospect.  I recom- 
mend, for  such  little  streams,  the  construction 


The  Laying-out  of  Lawns 


51 


of  open,  clean-cut  main  channels,  with  sharp 
rather  than  round  bends,  and  then,  banks  made 
as  sloping  as  possible,  in  order  not  to  break  the 
grass  level  too  abruptly  and  lose  too  much  meadow 
land.  To  give  the  required  variety  in  detail  to 
the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  earth  may  be  taken 
away  here  and  there,  sometimes  from  the  upper, 
sometimes  from  the  lower  bank,  and  still  further 
to  vary  the  effect,  bushes,  stones,  or  water  plants 
may  be  set  on  or  near  the  edge  of  the  water.  It 
is  obvious  that,  wherever  possible,  watering  or 
flooding  a lawn  or  grass  field  must  be  carefully 
provided  for,  and  that  there  should  be  one  gen- 
eral flooding  for  a few  days  in  the  spring,  and 
even  after  every  mowing.  Wherever  this  can  be 
done,  it  is  preferable  to  the  daily  watering  dur- 
ing the  hot  weather,  from  which  I have  never 
derived  much  benefit. 

(5)  If  one  desires  to  lay  out  lawns  for  “ pleas- 
ure-grounds ” and  gardens,  grass  seeds  should  be 
mixed  according  to  the  ground,  but  all  coarse 
grasses,  such  as  honey  or  velvet  grass  {Holcus  lana- 
tus),  French  rye  grass  {^Arrhenatherum  elatius), 
thread  grass,  etc.,  should  be  avoided.  Festuca 
ovina  (sheep’s  fescue),  white  clover  (Trifolium 
repens),  and  English  rye  grass  (Folium perenne),  are 
generally  used  in  England,  and  when  the  finer 
kind  of  lawn  is  desired,  instead  of  rye  grass,  sev- 
eral kinds  of  Agrosfis  or  red-top  and  other  very 
fine  grasses.  In  our  soil  and  climate  the  most 
beautiful  and  firm  turf  can  be  best  assured  in  a 
short  time  by  sodding  with  selected  fine  park 


52  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


grass  which  one  can  find  everywhere  on  the  bor- 
ders of  fields  and  edges  of  woods.  It  should  be 
cut  off  in  long  strips,  rolled  up,  then  laid  on  the 
properly  prepared  ground  in  the  same  way  it  lay 
before  it  was  cut,  firmly  bedded  with  wooden 
pounders,  all  gaps  stopped,  a little  good  garden 
earth  strewn  over,  and  a little  of  the  above  grass 
mixture  sown  on  top ; the  whole  being  finally 
rolled  and  watered.  This  is  sure  to  give  the  de- 
sired result,  and  if  later  on  any  portion  of  the 
lawn  should  show  patches  of  poor  turf,  I have 
often  found,  in  order  to  make  the  growth  strong 
and  healthy,  that  it  was  quite  sufficient  to  dig 
up  such  parts  and  sow  fresh  seed. 

The  proper  treatment  later  on  is,  however, 
the  most  important  thing,  without  which  no 
short  grass  can  long  remain  in  good  condition. 
First  of  all  it  must  be  mowed  every  eight  days 
in  wet,  every  fourteen  days  in  dry,  weather,  and 
it  should  be  rolled  at  least  as  often.  It  is  best  to 
let  the  rolling  precede  the  mowing,  first,  in  or- 
der to  press  down  little  stones  and  other  obstruc- 
tions, in  which  the  scythe  is  apt  to  catch  and 
stick,  and  second,  so  as  to  obliterate  the  stripes 
which  the  roller  leaves  on  the  lawn  and  which 
are  conspicuous  for  several  days.  The  usual  rye 
scythes  will  serve  with  grass  as  well ; but  the 
operation  requires  considerable  practice  and  a 
very  even  stroke.  Also,  to  avoid  leaving  out  bits  of 
long  grass,  one  must  mow  every  piece  twice,  down 
and  up,  in  dry  weather.  The  morning  hours, 
before  the  dew  is  gone,  are  the  best  for  mowing. 


The  Laying-out  of  Lawns 


53 


If  these  instructions  are  followed  out  exactly, 
it  will  seldom  be  necessary  to  have  to  weed  out 
isolated  encroachments  of  flowers  or  weeds  ; they 
either  die  out  of  themselves,  or  have  no  time  to 
affect  injuriously  the  evenness  of  the  turf.  It  is 
also  a mistake  to  try  to  weed  out  all  moss  in  a 
lawn  of  this  kind.  Many  kinds,  under  the  treat- 
ment I have  described,  in  the  shade  of  the  trees, 
where  no  grass  will  grow,  make  a carpet  which 
is  like  satin  in  softness  and  excels  even  grass  in 
freshness.  I remember  to  have  seen  in  the  Isle 
of  Wight  a long  stretch  of  moss  of  this  kind, 
which,  in  elasticity,  soft  green,  and  closeness  of 
texture,  excelled  any  lawn  I have  seen  in  Eng- 
land, and  also  I have  succeeded  in  making  charm- 
ing places  of  this  kind  under  high  trees. 

As  soon  as  the  grass  is  cut,  the  lawn  should 
be  raked  off  and  then  swept  carefully  its  entire 
length  with  sharp  brooms,  until  it  is  as  clean  as 
a floor.  It  is  then  more  pleasant  for  walking 
than  the  best  gravel  path  and  does  not  at  all 
require  the  anxious  warnings  and  notice  boards 
which  in  our  gardens  often  border  on  the  ridicu- 
lous. One  may  play  ball  on  it  all  day  without 
fear  of  doing  it  any  damage.  It  is  true  that, 
during  a severe  drought,  I have  been  compelled 
to  water  my  lawns  with  a large  fire  engine  con- 
nected with  a pump  which  was  stationed  for 
this  purpose  near  the  castle,  with  sufficient  power 
to  use  a leather  hose  having  a length  of  more 
than  three  hundred  feet.  I cannot,  however,  as- 
sert that  much  good  was  accomplished  thereby. 


54  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


and  I have  abandoned  it  on  account  of  the  great 
expense.  In  time  of  extreme  drought  any  lawn 
will,  in  spite  of  all  irrigation,  be  inferior  to  one 
which  has  had  plenty  of  rain,  but  even  if,  in  the 
hottest  months,  the  lawn  should  be  apparently 
all  burned  up,  yet  it  will  be  renewed  in  the  au- 
tumn. In  any  case,  during  periods  of  great  heat 
and  severe  drought  it  is  advisable  neither  to  roll 
nor  to  mow.  Except  under  these  circumstances, 
the  time  of  mowing  and  rolling  should  begin 
when  the  grass  has  grown  an  inch  or  two  and 
only  cease  on  the  approach  of  the  season  of  frost 
and  snow.  This  continuous  procedure  is,  of 
course,  expensive,  and  in  many  places  in  Eng- 
land it  is  customary  to  keep  well  mowed  only 
the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house  and  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  “ pleasure-ground,”  especially  when 
the  master  is  absent.  The  closeness  of  the  grass, 
however,  as  well  as  its  cleanliness,  suffers,  as  I 
have  often  experienced,  if  it  is  not  continually 
mown.  In  very  large  gardens  it  is  as  well  to 
keep  several  men  for  the  single  purpose  of  mow- 
ing,' and  to  let  them  mow  continuously  in  the 
morning  hours,  so  that  when  the  last  piece  is 
finished,  the  work  can  be  at  once  taken  up  at 
the  beginning.  In  this  way  it  is  possible  to  have 
the  lawn  appear  for  the  largest  part  tidy  all  the 
time,  as  to  mow  and  roll  and  sweep  such  exten- 
sive spaces  all  at  once  in  one  or  two  mornings 

‘ In  general  it  is  advisable  to  keep  the  same  workmen  on  the  one 
task.  They  do  their  work  better  and  more  quickly,  and  give  more 
satisfaction. 


The  Laying-out  of  Lawns 


55 


would  require,  especially  with  the  sluggishness 
and  slow  way  of  working  of  our  country  folk, 
an  extraordinary  number  of  men,  and  the  un- 
skilled labor  necessarily  employed  would,  more- 
over, give  poor  and  unequal  results. 

I have  dwelt  on  these  details,  because  in  Ger- 
many few  things  are  so  neglected ; indeed,  in 
many  cases  they  seem  to  be  quite  ignored.  On 
my  place  I have  proved  that  with  similar  treat- 
ment we  can  obtain  as  good  lawns  in  spring, 
summer,  and  autumn  as  in  England;  on  account 
of  our  harder  climate  it  is  not  possible  in  win- 
ter, at  the  beginning  of  which  English  lawns 
are  at  their  best.  It  is  less  possible,  perhaps,  for 
us  to  vie  with  the  richness  of  the  open  meadows 
in  England,  especially  with  their  wealth  of 
flowers,  of  which  I remember  examples,  where 
at  a little  distance  bright  reds,  blues,  and  yellows 
entirely  mantled  the  green. 

The  field  set  apart  for  meadow  is  sown  for  a 
year  or  two  with  root  crops,  then  it  is  laid  out 
in  little  sections  for  the  men  engaged  in  manur- 
ing and  working  it,  irregularities  are  leveled 
down,  and  each  section  worked  across.  When 
the  whole  field  has  been  thoroughly  worked  in 
this  manner  according  to  its  quality, — since  it 
is  seldom  that  even  a field  of  ten  acres  is  of  the 
same  quality,  — I spread  on  the  lighter  soil  clay 
and  marl,  on  the  heavier  soil,  sand  and  light 
loam,  also  a compost  made  of  turfy  earth  and 
oak  tan  bark,  leveling  the  whole  once  more  with 
the  spade  so  that  the  smallest  inequalities  are 


56  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


worked  into  the  trenches  and  hollows.  The 
whole  field  is  then  prepared  so  that  the  roller 
can  reach  every  bit  of  its  surface.* 

The  best  time  for  sowing  with  grass  I have 
found  to  be  in  August;  also  in  September  when 
the  weather  permits,  though  August  is  prefer- 
able. The  advantages  of  sowing  in  the  summer 
are:  (i)  In  the  autumn  one  does  not  expect  to 
have  such  severe  droughts  as  in  the  spring ; there- 
fore, the  grass  becomes  thick  and  very  strong  be- 
fore winter.  (2)  On  meadows  the  grass  seed  sown 
in  the  autumn  grows  more  vigorously  and  safely. 
{ 3 ) One  can  level  the  ground  and  improve  it  with 
compost  in  the  summer  when  the  work  of  the 
spring  and  other  pressing  requirements  have  been 
attended  to,  according  to  the  number  of  men  and 
draught  cattle  available.  Here,  where  wages  are 
not  exactly  excessive,  I have  the  ground,  when 
it  has  been  prepared  as  above,  turned  up  in  July 
in  small  sections.  As  soon  as  rainy  weather  sets 
in  and  the  clods  are  half  dry,  so  that  the  earth 
does  not  clog,  I go  over  it  once  with  the  harrow, 
and  sow  it  in  the  order  of  the  following  mix- 
tures: English  rye  grass  [Lolium  perenne)^  or- 
chard grass  [Dactylis  glomeratd)^  meadow  fescue 
[Festuca  pratensis'^,  velvet  grass  {Holcus  lanatus), 
French  rye  grass  {Arrhenatherum  elatius)  and  tim- 
othy grass  in  equal  parts,  and  allow  for  a Magde- 
burg acre  (.63  of  an  English  acre)  one  half  hun- 

' It  may  perhaps  interest  students  to  have  a regular  receipt  for  the 
sowing  of  lawns,  which  I have  set  down  as  suggested  by  my  head  gar- 
dener, giving  the  manner  in  which  the  most  successful  of  my  lawns 
have  been  procured. 


The  Laying-out  of  Lawns 


57 


dredweight  of  clean  seed.  Generally,  however, 
because  of  cost,  the  seed  is  not  sufficiently  cleaned, 
and  in  this  case  double  and,  on  lighter  ground, 
treble  the  above  amount  is  required.  Timothy 
grass,  on  account  of  its  fine  and  heavy  grain, 
does  not  mix  well  with  the  other  seeds,  and 
therefore  to  ten  pounds  of  timothy  [Phleum  pra- 
tense)  I add  one  pound  of  white  clover  [Trifo- 
lium repens^,  one  pound  red  clover  [Trifolium 
pratense),  one  pound  of  yellow  clover,  and  one 
pound  of  sweet  or  Bokhara  clover  [Melilotus 
officinal and  later  spread  this  mixture,  which 
is  of  equally  heavy  grain,  over  the  space  which 
has  already  been  sown  with  the  lighter  mixture. 
Then  the  field  is  harrowed  and  rolled  lengthways 
and  crossways.  When  the  greater  part  of  the 
seed  is  ripe  the  next  summer,  I have  it  beaten 
off  with  rakes  or  small  stakes  before  mowing.  In 
good  weather  the  greater  part  of  the  fallen  seeds 
sprout  again,  whereby  I obtain  a fairly  thick 
grass  turf  in  one  year,  which  otherwise  I could 
not  expect  from  a sown  meadow  for  several  years, 
unless  I were  to  sow  three  times  as  thickly,  which 
would  be  very  expensive,  since  the  harvesting 
and  threshing  of  grass  seed  is  rather  difficult  and 
depends  very  much  upon  the  weather. 


Chapter  VII 

Trees  and  Shrubs  and  their  Groupings  and 
Plantations  in  General 


The  first  requirement  of  a landscape  is  the 
vigorous  growth  of  all  plants.  The  finest 
forms  of  mountains  and  lakes,  the  brilliancy  of  the 
sun  and  sky,  combined  with  the  naked  rocks  and 
bare  lakes,  cannot  replace  meadows  and  the  luxu- 
riant growth  of  various  forms  of  trees  with  their 
diversified,  pleasing  green  and  rich  foliage.  For- 
tunate the  man  to  whom  his  forbears  have  be- 
queathed lofty  woods  of  old  oaks,  beeches,  and 
lindens,  these  proud  giants  of  our  Northern  clime, 
standing  still  untouched  by  the  woodman’s  mur- 
derous axe.  He  should  never  regard  them  without 
veneration  and  delight,  he  should  cherish  them 
as  the  apple  of  his  eye,  for  neither  money  nor 
power,  neither  a Croesus  nor  an  Alexander,  can  re- 
store an  oak  a thousand  years  old  in  its  wonder- 
ful majesty  after  the  poor  laborer  has  felled  it. 
Terrible  and  swift  is  the  destructive  power  of 
man,  but  poor  and  weak  is  his  power  to  rebuild. 
May  an  ancient  tree  be  to  you,  kind  reader,  who 
love  Nature,  a holy  thing.  And  yet,  here  also, 
the  individual  tree  must  be  sacrificed,  if  need  be, 
to  the  general  group. 

It  may  happen  that  a tree  which,  taken  alone. 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


59 


is  most  beautiful,  does  really  disturb  the  effect- 
iveness and  harmony  of  the  whole,  and  then  it 
must  be  sacrificed.  Such  occasions,  however,  are 
very  rare,  and  I,  unfortunately,  know  from  my 
own  experience  that  a slight  alteration  of  plans 
would  often  be  sufficient  to  spare  a precious  vet- 
eran whose  execution  at  first  seemed  unavoidable. 
At  all  events,  before  applying  the  executioner’s 
axe,  be  sure  to  deliberate  not  once  but  many 
times.  It  may  be  that  the  importance  which  I 
give  to  this  matter  may  appear  exaggerated,  yet 
a true  lover  of  Nature  will  understand  me,  and 
appreciate  the  qualms  of  conscience  that  half  a 
dozen  trees  murdered  without  reason  continue  to 
cause  me.  On  the  other  hand,  my  only  conso- 
lation is  that  by  boldly  cutting  down  other  trees 
I have  made  such  great  improvements  that  the 
gain  outbalances  the  loss.  Besides,  there  is  no 
denying  that  by  the  removal  of  a few  big  trees 
more  can  be  accomplished  in  one  day  than  in  a 
hundred  years  by  planting  thousands  of  speci- 
mens, and  that  the  loss  of  a few  of  these  is  not 
to  be  regretted  if  their  number  is  increased  a 
hundredfold  to  the  eye  by  making  so  many  others 
visible  which  had  previously  been  quite  obscured. 
This  is  so  certain,  that,  although  I have  not  been 
blessed  with  a surplus  of  ancient  trees  in  my  park, 
yet  I have  succeeded  in  apparently  multiplying 
tenfold  the  number  of  them  left  standing.  These, 
by  the  removal  of  some  eighty  others,  are  visi- 
ble now  from  all  points.  One  is  often  struck  by 
the  fact  in  such  cases  that  “One  cannot  see  the 


6o  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


woods  for  the  trees.”  The  great  art  in  laying  out 
a park  consists  in  making  use  of  comparatively 
few  objects  in  such  a way  that  a great  variety  of 
different  pictures  result,  in  which  the  recurrent 
elements  are  not  recognized  or  at  least  produce 
novel  and  surprising  effects.  The  double  illustra- 
tion on  Plate  II  shows  the  result  which  was 
brought  about  by  the  removal  of  about  twenty 
old  limes  which  stood  in  front  of  the  castle. 

It  is  far  more  important  to  select,  for  trees  to 
be  transplanted,  the  kind  of  soil  which  suits  them, 
or  to  procure  it  artificially  if  it  is  not  natur- 
ally available,  and  above  all,  never  to  transplant 
them  to  w'orse  ground  than  they  previously  occu- 
pied. It  is  really  amusing  how  ignorant  most 
planters  are  in  this  matter,  and  how  they  place 
various  species  of  trees  quite  haphazard,  without 
suspecting,  much  less  taking  any  trouble  to  dis- 
cover, how  various  are  the  mixtures  of  soil  which 
each  plant  particularly  requires.  The  most  ordi- 
nary agriculturist  is  quite  aware  of  this  with  re- 
gard to  his  fruit  trees,  and  observes  it  daily ; the 
ornamental  tree  planter,  at  the  most,  knows  so- 
called  “"good  soil,”  that  is,  heavy  loam  and  sand. 
On  this  matter  I must  be  content  to  draw  the 
attention  of  the  reader  to  its  importance,  as  a ne- 
cessarily long  disquisition  would  take  me  too  far 
beyond  my  prescribed  limits.  Sterile  soils  can  be 
made  to  produce,  without  great  expense,  luxuriant 
growth  of  all  kinds  of  trees  which  can  bear  the 
climate  provided  one  has  a proper  compost  of 
mixed  peat,  sand,  loam,  and  in  addition  manure 


Plate  II.  View  from  the  Front  of  the  Castle  at  Moskau,  showing  Effect  of  the  Removal  of  about  Twenty  Large  Trees 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


6 1 


and  straw  and  lime^  if  it  can  be  obtained  at  a 
moderate  price. 

In  case  there  is  underlying  the  whole  region 
a coarse  gravel  or  impenetrable  clay,  all  attempts 
are  hopeless.  Any  one  who  plants  lindens  in  heavy 
loam,  chestnuts  in  marl,  beeches  in  peat,  planes 
in  quicksand,  as  I have  often  seen  done,  has  him- 
self to  blame  when  he  raises  cripples  instead  of 
trees.  So  much  for  transplanting  single  trees.  With 
regard  to  the  art  of  their  grouping  I will  add  the 
following : F requently  several  trees  may  be  planted 
close  together  in  one  and  the  same  hole,  some 
fork-like;  sometimes  five  to  six  should  be  placed 
in  almost  straight  lines,  etc.;  for  groups  symmet- 
rically rounded  off  become  as  monotonous  in  the 
end  as  do  regular  alleys.  The  accompanying  illus- 
tration (Plate  III,  a and  b)  shows  two  ground- 
plans  with  the  same  number  of  trees,  one  badly 
and  one  well  grouped:  c shows  artificially,  and 
d naturally,  planted  groups.  On  slopes,  because 
of  the  long  shadows  they  throw,  single  trees  show 
better  than  groups.  On  flat  ground  trees  should 
less  often  stand  out  singly,  but  should  be  so  dis- 
posed as  to  give  the  eye  a certain  continuity  of 
view,  not  too  much  broken  up,  here  by  sweep- 
ing, there  by  nearer,  sometimes  round,  sometimes 
extended,  groups. 

A pleasing  effect  is  frequently  obtained  by 
planting  two  entirely  different  species  of  trees  in 
the  same  hole,  such  as  birch  and  alder,  willow 
and  oak,  of  which  I possess  a very  picturesque 
specimen  in  my  “ pleasure-ground,”  or  by  allow- 


62  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


ing  one  tree  to  grow  askew  leaning  almost  hori- 
zontally over  the  water. 

To  bring  about  such  little  artifices  one  must 
observe  Nature  herself  and  await  a convenient 
opportunity  for  the  undertaking.  Thus,  I recom- 
mend the  planting  of  all  trees  intended  to  stand 
alone  on  a somewhat  rounded  spot  of  ground,  as 
the  heaped-up  earth  gives  them  a more  graceful 
outline,  and  old  trees  which  have  grown  up  from 
seed  nearly  always  stand  naturally  on  just  such  a 
swelling  point  forced  up  by  the  growing  roots. 

In  order  to  judge  of  their  effect  beforehand, 
it  is  a good  idea,  before  planting  groups,  to  stick 
in  the  ground  felled  trees  and  branches.  I should 
advise  this  course  until  riper  experience  gives  the 
proper  instinct  and  until  the  trained  powers  of 
the  imagination  become  able  to  paint  the  picture 
accurately  in  the  mind.  But  one  cannot  expect 
that  every  arrangement  will  look  equally  well 
from  all  sides;  that  is  impossible;  so  one  should 
take  only  the  chief  points  of  view,  test  the  whole 
from  these  points  only,  and  by  the  disposition  of 
the  paths  prevent  the  visitor  from  being  led  to 
the  less  favorable  spots. 

With  solid  young  plantations  I generally  take 
the  following  course:  First  of  all,  I have  the 
entire  plot  of  ground  trenched  to  a depth  of  at 
least  two  feet,  even  if  the  soil  consists  only  of  the 
lightest  drift  sand.  The  chemical  effect  of  trench- 
ing and  the  receptivity  for  moisture  thus  imparted 
to  the  earth  often  passes  all  expectations.  By 
trenching  four  feet  in  bare  granular  sand  on  a 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


63 


sterile  hill,  where  one  would  expect  only  birches 
and  pines  to  prosper,  I have  grown  good  oaks, 
maples,  limes,  and  firs,  and,  as  they  have  flour- 
ished for  a period  of  twelve  years,  their  future 
growth  is  reasonably  safe.' 

Only  on  steep  declivities,  where  trenching  is 
impracticable,  would  I permit,  even  in  the  case 
of  solid  plantations,  the  forester’s  method  of 
planting  trees  in  small  single  trenches,  a s tyle 
only  to  be  used  in  ornamental  work  were  abso- 
lutely necessary.  Wherever  it  is  possible  without 
excessive  cost,  I try  to  improve  the  original  soil 
in  some  degree,  but  if  this  is  not  feasible,  I select 
for  planting  thereon  only  such  kinds  of  trees  as 
may  be  expected  to  thrive.  If  time,  however, 
allows,  I manure  the  trenched  territory  first  and 
plant  it  with  potatoes  for  one  year.  I make  a point 
of  planting  everywhere  as  closely  as  possible: 
first,  because  the  trees  thrive  better  thus;  secondly, 
because  I can  utilize  such  a plantation  as  a nur- 
sery later  on  by  the  removal  every  year  of  a part 
of  the  young  plants  which  have  been  too  closely 
set.  The  quick-growing  trees  that  have  grown 
higher,  such  as  poplars,  alders,  acacias,  etc.,  should 
be  distributed  here  and  there,  always  with  due 
regard  to  the  soil,  thereby  giving  from  the  be- 
ginning a more  finished  appearance  to  the  whole 
mass,  but  these  should  be  cut  down  for  under- 
brush later  on,  the  nobler  species,  the  oaks,  lin- 

' If  there  is  a foot  of  earth  on  top  and  only  sand  below,  the  trench- 
ing should  not  be  so  deep,  as  it  is  a good  idea  to  keep  the  roots  as  much 
as  possible  in  the  rich  earth. 


64  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


dens,  beeches,  chestnuts,  etc.,  being  given  the 
preference.  I consider  it  inadvisable  to  plant  too 
small  and  too  young  specimens,  partly  for  their 
own  welfare  and  partly  to  avoid  waste  of  time. 
Therefore,  I seldom  take  for  the  purpose  trees 
less  than  five  or  six  feet  high,  and  I also  use  only 
shrubs  that  have  acquired  some  bushiness.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  remark  that,  in  general,  ex- 
tended nurseries  are  most  important  in  all  grounds, 
or  at  least  should  be  found  in  the  neighborhood.' 

It  is  to  this  simple  method  that  I attribute  the 
fact  that  my  plantations,  according  to  many  visi- 
tors, as  a rule  have,  after  two  or  three  years,  the 
appearance  of  ten  or  fifteen  years’  growth,  and 
at  the  same  time  have  served  for  a considerable 
period. 

For  two  or  three  years  only  I have  the  new 
plantations  in  the  park  weeded  and  raked,  and 
after  that  no  more.  This  is  to  keep  the  surface 
roots  undamaged  and  also  to  save  expense.  The 
plantations  are  then  left  alone,  except  that  they 
are  gradually  thinned  out,  either  by  taking  away 
trees  entirely,  or  by  cutting  down  others  so  that 
the  fresh  growth  will  form  underwood.  In  course 
of  time  one  can,  with  the  greatest  ease,  give 
plantations  so  arranged  every  variety  required, 
making  them  a thicket  impenetrable  to  the  eye, 
or  a forest  of  a slender  growth  which  will  unfold 
itself  in  spreading  foliage,  allowing  peeps  into 

^ I cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  here  the  magnificent  nursery  in 
Potsdam  and  congratulating  its  founder.  Head  Gardener  Lenne,  for  all 
that  he  has  accomplished  in  this  branch  of  gardening  with  such  tireless 
energy. 


Photograph  by  Thomas  W.  Sears 


A Vista  in  the  Park  of  Muskau 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


65 


the  depths,  or  break  into  dappled  light  and  shade 
over  a small,  open  plot  of  meadow  in  beautiful, 
wavy  lines,  or  out  of  all  these  combine  a mingled 
effect  of  many  kinds  of  scenery. 

In  the  park  I avail  myself,  as  a rule,  of  native 
or  thoroughly  acclimated  trees  and  shrubs,  and 
avoid  all  foreign  ornamental  plants,  for  idealized 
Nature  must  still  be  true  to  the  character  of  the 
country  and  climate  to  which  it  belongs  so  as  to 
appear  of  spontaneous  growth  and  not  betray  the 
artifice  which  may  have  been  used.  We  have 
many  beautiful  flowering  shrubs  growing  wild 
in  Germany  which  should  be  freely  used,  while 
a centifolia  rose,  a Chinese  lilac,  or  a clump  of 
such  shrubs  in  a spot  in  the  middle  of  a wild 
wood  strike  us  unpleasantly  as  an  affectation  un- 
less they  are  found  by  themselves  in  an  enclosed 
space,  as,  for  instance,  in  a little  garden  near  a 
cottage  which  sufficiently  indicates  the  neighbor- 
hood and  hand  of  man.  Some  foreign  trees,  such 
as  white  pines,  acacias,  larches,  planes,  locusts, 
purple  beeches,  may  be  regarded  as  native, 
though  I prefer  for  our  country  lindens,  oaks, 
maples,  beeches,  alders,  elms,  chestnuts,  ash, 
birch,  etc. 

Varieties  of  poplar  which  are  very  useful  in 
the  beginning  on  account  of  their  rapid  growth, 
I remove  in  the  course  of  time,  as  their  branches 
are  too  straggly  and  their  grayish  green  too  som- 
ber; yet  modifications  occur  easily;  silver  poplars, 
for  example,  relieved  against  any  dark  wood, 
making  a pleasant  variation,  and  old  Canadian 


66  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


poplars  often  overhang  lower  shrubs  very  prettily 
and  also  add  to  the  height  of  different  parts  of 
the  group. 

The  Lombardy  poplars  had  better  be  entirely 
removed  from  the  park,  but  in  the  “ pleasure- 
ground  ” they  produce  a not  unpleasing  effect 
when  grouped  in  large  masses.  Singly  their  shape 
is  too  stiff  and  unpicturesque,  and  used  in  alleys 
they  are  a real  horror. 

On  the  whole,  I try  to  arrange  the  larger 
plantations  so  that  in  each  section  one  kind  of 
tree  dominates,  and,  of  course,  that  one  of  the 
kind  for  which  the  soil  is  most  suitable,  but  I 
try  to  avoid  having  a whole  division  with  only 
one  kind  of  tree.  This  mode  of  planting  is  very 
popular  in  our  German  gardens,  where  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  trees,  especially  evergreens  and  de- 
ciduous trees,  are  as  anxiously  separated  in  groups 
in  connected  plantations  as  if  contagion  were  to 
be  feared  from  one  species  of  tree  to  another. 
All  this,  perhaps,  may  be  said  to  produce  a gran- 
diose, though  hardly  a gay,  effect,  but  in  my 
opinion,  on  the  contrary,  it  gives  just  the  appear- 
ance of  a harlequin’s  jacket.  Nor  is  such  a pro- 
ceeding in  any  way  founded  on  Nature.  Where 
Nature,  left  to  herself  on  an  area,  relatively  as  a 
park,  has  sown  a thousand  kinds  of  trees  and 
shrubs  in  one  climatic  temperature,  it  stands  to 
reason  that  they  must  have  been  much  mingled 
together.  Here  and  there  a group  maybe  found 
making  a little  wood,  as  it  were,  of  the  same 
tree,  quite  naturally,  but  the  systematic  separa- 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


67 


tion  of  the  different  kinds  of  trees  is  the  most 
unnatural  arrangement  imaginable. 

There  is  nothing  more  beautiful  and  more  in 
accordance  with  untrammeled  Nature  than  a 
luxurious  mixed  forest  where  the  sun  dances 
among  the  many  hues  of  green,  and  nothing 
more  monotonous  and  dismal  than  a district 
where  one  passes  now  a clump  of  firs,  then  a 
long  stretch  of  larches,  here  a patch  of  birches, 
and  in  another  place  a collection  of  poplars  or 
oaks,  and  a thousand  paces  on  the  same  tedious 
rows  beginning  again.  It  is  entirely  different  in 
the  case  of  large  forests  of  aged  trees,  where,  in 
the  end,  as  in  the  world  of  men,  the  dominating 
species  oppress  the  weaker,  and  yet  one  may  see 
in  a fruitful  soil,  even  in  a wild  state,  the  fir 
pairing  with  the  oak,  the  birch  with  the  alder, 
the  beech  with  the  lime,  and  the  thornbushes 
with  all  kinds  of  deciduous  trees. 

As  regards  the  latter,  I have  always  kept  in 
mind  the  advice  of  Mr.  Repton,  the  eminent 
garden  expert,  seldom  to  plant  a tree  without 
giving  it  a brier  as  a protector.  Although  this 
rule  must  not  be  taken  literally,  yet  it  is  a most 
useful  one  both  for  protecting  and  for  giving 
variety  to  the  plantation. 

I need  hardly  recommend  that  all  blossoming 
and  berry-bearing  plants,  such  as  wild  fruit  trees, 
thorns,  hips,  peonies,  mountain  ash,  barberries, 
alders,  etc.,  must  be  brought  forward  to  the  bor- 
ders and  made  conspicuous,  but  one  must  be 
careful  not  to  make  the  intention  too  obvious 


68  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


by  overdoing  this  work.  Nor  should  the  highest 
trees  be  always  placed  in  the  center  and  rows  of 
shrubs  always  along  the  edges,  as  most  of  our 
gardeners  do.  The  outline  of  the  plantation 
should,  on  the  contrary,  be  interrupted  by  trees 
trimmed  high,  especially  where  the  road  leads 
close  by  them,  and  trees  with  low-hanging 
branches  should  be  set  farther  back.  Often,  too, 
where  there  is  room,  one  should  strive  after  that 
graceful  negligence,  so  difficult  to  emulate,  in 
which  Nature  remains  ever  the  mistress,  by  the 
plantation  of  single  shrubs  and  trees  scattered 
freely  over  the  grass.  So  also  the  clumps  in  the 
“ pleasure-ground,”  as  I shall  presently  attempt 
to  describe,  should  show  the  greatest  variety,  not 
only  in  the  species,  but  also  with  regard  to  their 
form  and  situation.  Here  also  it  is,  as  I have 
said,  not  always  necessary  to  place  the  largest 
trees  in  the  middle  and  the  lower-growing  ones 
graded  down  to  the  border.  The  contrary  has  a 
far  more  natural  appearance,  and  a tall  tree  ris- 
ing high  out  of  the  bushes  along  the  edge  and  a 
broken  line  of  greenery  is  more  picturesque,  even 
in  small  groups,  than  masses  always  rounded  and 
sloping  gradually  on  each  side  and  which  would 
be  improved  by  being  broken  up.  The  drawing 
in  Plate  IV  shows  an  inferior,  and  what  I have 
indicated  as  the  better,  way,  a and  b for  wood 
plantations  near  the  paths,  and  c and  d for  shrub- 
beries in  the  grass  plots. 

How  far  one  may  plant  with  the  deliberate 
intention  of  attaining  artistic  light  and  shade  and 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


69 


color  contrast,  I will  not  venture  to  state.  The 
matter  presents  great  difficulties,  and  in  my  ex- 
perience these  attempts,  if  I went  too  far  into 
detail,  have  seldom  succeeded  very  well,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  plantations  mixed  quite  recklessly 
often  unfolded  the  most  unexpected  charms ; nay, 
they  earned  me  many  compliments  for  my  art 
wherein  I was  as  innocent  as  many  a physician 
who  has  effected  a great  cure  without  knowing 
how  he  did  it.  I do  not  lay  much  stress  on  any 
instructions  in  this  matter,  as  I have  always  taken 
an  easy  middle  course.  It  must  also  be  remem- 
bered that  the  foliage  of  trees  will  often  assume 
an  entirely  and  unexpected  shade  when  trans- 
planted to  a different  soil,  and  this  cannot  always 
be  regulated  in  a large  plot.  It  may  happen  that 
a dark-colored  maple  intended  for  shading  grows 
a very  light  foliage.  It  is  quite  obvious,  however, 
that  one  should  avoid  too  variegated  a mixture 
of  leaves,  too  frequent  alternations  of  dark  and 
light  green  foliage,  but  here  also,  where  it  would 
be  hard  to  lay  down  good,  sharp  rules  in  detail, 
the  taste  of  the  owner  must  be  the  best  guide.  One 
of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  all  plantations  is  to 
give  to  the  edges  a natural  and  graceful  outline.* 
Many  excellent  examples  of  forest  plantations 
are  found  in  England,  and  I may  be  excused  for 
referring  to  the  park  of  Lord  Darnley,  in  Cob- 

' The  outlines  are  generally  indicated  by  sticks  set  in  the  ground  at 
short  intervals.  The  effect  may  be  still  better  judged  by  outlining  the 
shape  on  the  grass  with  cords  and  running  a furrow  along  this  outline. 
This  furnishes  an  easy  means  of  judging,  and,  if  necessary,  altering,  the 
shape.  < 


JO  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


ham,  which  really  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired 
in  this  respect  and  may  be  recommended  to  all 
strangers  for  study.  But  as  far  as  pleasure-ground 
plantations  go,  the  well-known  architect,  Mr. 
Nash,  has  only  recently,  in  my  estimation,  pre- 
sented the  right  way,  and  in  the  Gardens  of 
Buckingham  Palace,  the  new  palace  of  the  King, 
and  also  in  Virginia  Water,  has  established  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  examples.  In  passing,  I 
may  say  that  I consider  Windsor  Park,  with  the 
new  grounds  of  Virginia  Water,  one  of  the  most 
perfect  examples  in  England.  In  its  extension 
and  variety  it  forms  a complete  and  splendid 
landscape.  Castle  and  park  have  become,  by  the 
munificence  and  splendor  of  the  late  King,  the 
worthiest  seat  for  the  most  powerful  monarch 
on  earth. 

It  is  a pity  that,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  ac- 
cess to  the  finest  part  where  George  IV  resided 
was  so  difficult  to  obtain  ; however,  the  liberality 
of  the  present  King  will  have  surely  changed  all 
this.  His  late  Majesty  so  shunned  the  eyes  of 
strangers  that  in  many  places,  where  an  indis- 
creet glance  might  possibly  penetrate,  a second 
and  even  a third  story  of  boards  was  erected  and 
nailed  to  the  wooden  fence  which  surrounds  the 
park.  Whoever  did  not  have  the  personal  ac- 
quaintance of  His  Majesty,  or  had  not  special 
connections,  or  who  did  not  care  to  spin  out  a 
kind  of  intrigue,  could  not  approach  Virginia 
Water.  For  the  garden-lover  this  was  doubly  to 
be  deplored,  because  the  King  was  not  only,  as 


Windsor  Castle 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


71 


his  worshipers  declared,  the  first  “gentleman” 
in  the  land,  but  deserves  to  be  called  one  of  the 
most  tasteful  landscape  artists  in  England. 

The  English  are  greatly  favored  by  their  cli- 
mate, which  permits  all  kinds  of  evergreens  to 
live  safely  through  the  winter,  such  as  rhododen- 
dron, cherry  laurel,  Portuguese  laurel,  all  vari- 
eties of  holly,  arbutus,  viburnum,  buxus,  and 
'Daphne  laureola,  etc.,  which  at  all  times  furnish 
ready  material  for  thick  flowering  and  beauti- 
fully shaded  shrubberies. 

The  usual  way  for  planting  has  hitherto  been, 
and  still  is,  even  now,  in  famous  places  like  Chis- 
wick and  others,  to  arrange  either  oval  or  round 
clumps  on  the  lawn  and  draw  long,  wavy  lines, 
(or  have  strips  of  grass  of  an  even  width)  along 
the  paths,  which  are  always  marked  off  by  a 
clean-cut  border,  and  back  of  this  appears  the 
black  soil  of  quite  elevated  beds  which  are  care- 
fully raked  clean.  The  shrubs  are  also  severely 
pruned  so  that  they  hardly  touch  one  another. 
Flowers  are  set  here  and  there  in  order  to  give 
more  color  to  the  plantation,  but  the  result  of  it 
largely  is  that  one  sees  so  much  black  earth  in- 
stead of  green  color  that  a disagreeable  vacilla- 
tion between  formality  and  natural  irregularity 
is  apparent.  Mr.  Nash  has  entirely  abandoned 
this  kind  of  arrangement.  He  masses  the  shrubs 
more  closely  together,  allows  the  grass  to  disap- 
pear in  wide  sweeps  under  the  plants,  or  lets  it 
run  along  the  edges  of  the  shrubs  without  trim- 
ming them.  At  the  same  time  he  sets  a number 


72  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


of  isolated  trees  and  shrubs  on  the  lawn  beside 
the  plantation  in  order  to  interrupt  the  lines  nat- 
urally from  all  sides.  These  shrubberies  are  then 
neither  raked  nor  trimmed  except  where  neces- 
sary for  their  growth  ; hence,  they  soon  develop 
into  a thicket  that  gracefully  bends  over  the  lawn 
without  showing  anywhere  a sharply  defined  out- 
line, just  as  bushes  in  the  wild  state  grow  and 
shape  themselves  on  the  edge  of  a meadow.  No 
tender  bedding  flowers  can  be  employed  in  this 
way,  since  they  demand  continuous  attention, 
nor  are  they  necessary,  since  the  English  climate 
produces,  besides  the  beautiful  rhododendrons 
and  the  many  species  of  roses,  a sufficient  num- 
ber of  hardy  perennial  plants  to  give  variety  to 
the  plantation  ; and  the  flowers  are  massed  in 
the  flower  gardens  where  regularity  is  entirely 
in  order.  For  further  explanation  see  Plate  IV, 
where  the  sketch  e shows  the  border  plantations 
in  the  old  style,  andyj  Mr.  Nash’s  method. 

In  our  climate  and  less  productive  soil,  where 
even  the  commonest  varieties  of  roses  suffer  from 
cold  or  are  quite  destroyed  by  the  frost,  a middle 
course  must  be  found,  since  we  can  hardly  pro- 
duce ornamental  shrubberies  without  resorting  to 
herbaceous  plants  and  annuals.  For  a long  time, 
therefore,  I have  managed  in  general  my  planta- 
tions in  the  same  way  that  Mr.  Nash  has  done, 
while  leaving,  here  and  there  in  the  shrubberies, 
places  prepared  for  hardy  herbaceous  plants, 
which,  though  ugly  in  the  early  spring,  are 
bright  with  color  in  summer  and  autumn,  our 


Plate  IV.  e.  Border  Plantations  in  the  Old  Style 

f.  Border  Plantations  after  Nash’s  Method 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


73 


season  for  the  country,  whereas  in  England  this 
season  is  more  often  in  the  winter.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  flower  garden,  where  the  health  of 
herbaceous  plants  demands  it  and  formality  is 
quite  out  of  place,  I maintain  the  old  style  which 
I have  described  in  the  shrubberies,  though 
within  bounds,  and  with  this  difference,  that  I 
conceal  the  black  earth  as  much  as  possible  by 
flowering  perennial  plants. 

To  the  flower  beds  themselves  I give  a distinct, 
defined  shape  and  surround  them  preferably  by 
basket-work  ; sometimes  I make  use  of  ironwork, 
or  sometimes  of  wooden  borders  bound  with 
cord,  earthenware,  tiles,  leaf-shaped  or  other- 
wise ; also  borders  of  merely  plaited  osiers  with 
an  overhanging  arch  on  which  I train  flowering 
vines,  etc.  Flower  beds,  star-  and  rosette-shaped, 
surrounded  by  box  borders,  big  vases,  French 
parterres  with  gravel  walks  and  elegant  flower 
stands,  — all  these  are  here  in  place  with  appro- 
priate surroundings. 

From  what  I have  said  one  sees  that  Mr. 
Nash  is  at  bottom  an  innovator  only  in  this,  that 
he  has  applied  to  the  “ pleasure-ground  ” (that 
is,  the  larger  garden  which  represents  something 
midway  between  park  and  garden)  the  same 
principles  that  hold  good  in  all  wild  wood  and 
shrub  plantations ; namely,  that  the  true  line  of 
beauty  of  the  exterior  of  a plantation  must  lie  in 
imperceptible  transitions,  sharp  angles,  and  deep 
recesses,  here  and  there  in  almost  straight  lines, 
broken,  however,  by  single  projecting  trees  and 


74  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


shrubs  which  bind  them  loosely  together.  This 
does  not  mean  to  employ  that  ideal  wavy  line 
called  more  accurately,  “ corkscrew  ” form,  which 
is  the  most  unnatural  of  all  and  which  impedes 
any  effect  of  light  and  shade,  the  greatest  secret 
of  landscape  painting.  Besides,  in  spite  of  its 
twists,  when  seen  in  front  it  presents  only  a 
meaningless  zigzag  without  any  character.  Sharp 
corners,  on  the  other  hand,  seldom  do  harm,  as 
they  always  become  rounded  in  time  by  vegeta- 
tion. Finally,  after  the  first  two  years,  when  the 
needful  cultivation,  weeding,  etc.,  have  been 
done,  I sow  grass  on  the  borders  of  the  planta- 
tions and  wherever  a bare  place  shows  itself  be- 
tween the  shrubs,  until  every  trace  of  abruptness 
in  the  dividing  line  disappears,  and  the  most  nat- 
ural and  spontaneous  connection  between  meadow 
and  wood  is  created. 

Wherever  the  path  leads  through  the  planta- 
tion, either  the  plantation  is  brought  quite  close 
to  the  edge  or  a border  of  grass  is  made  to  lose 
itself  naturally  in  the  shrubbery. 

It  is  only  in  the  flower  garden  that  I permit  a 
continuous  border  cut  regularly  to  one  width; 
this  even  is  broken  here  and  there  by  a border 
of  box  or  violets,  etc.  Evergreens  should  not,  as 
a rule,  be  placed  close  to  the  roads,  since  they 
may  have  to  be  trimmed  high  for  the  benefit  of 
the  passer-by,  thereby  losing  their  beauty,  and, 
moreover,  no  grass  will  grow  underneath  them. 
But  they  are  often  very  ornamental  if  set  far 
enough  back  from  the  border  of  the  walk  or 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


75 


drive  to  permit  them  to  spread  out  their  branches. 
These  rules  also  admit  of  exceptions,  and  I take 
occasion  here  once  for  all  to  warn  against  pe- 
dantry. Nulla  regula  sine  excepfione.  But  to  allow 
one’s  self  exceptions,  one  must  all  the  more  be 
familiar  with  the  rule.  Thus,  it  is  not  advisable 
in  the  long  run  to  increase  by  the  addition  of 
young  trees  plantations  which  have  grown  old. 
They  are  apt  neither  to  look  well  nor  do  well; 
yet  at  times  it  is  necessary.  In  that  case  a por- 
tion of  the  older  trees  should  be  removed  and 
some  rather  large  specimens  of  the  younger  trees 
planted  in  wedge  form  in  gradation,  whereby  the 
transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  soon  disap- 
pears. For  the  same  reason  some  of  the  older 
and  inferior  trees  on  the  border  should  often  be 
cleared  away  and  replaced  by  a younger  growth 
until  the  disagreeable  sharpness  of  the  division  is 
quite  lost. 

I will  add  a few  words  here  on  the  shrubberies 
made  up  of  flowering  shrubs  and  perennial  plants 
and  annuals : — 

(1)  It  is  better  in  general,  but  not  always,  to 
group  one  kind  in  connected  masses  instead  of 
planting  too  many  single  and  isolated  specimens. 

(2)  With  such  masses  it  is  especially  advisable 
to  cover  over  conspicuous  points  of  shrubbery 
with  a lower  growth,  connecting  it  with  higher 
shrubs  in  such  a manner  that  these  shrubs  shall 
not  stand  detached  and  appear  intentionally 
placed  there. 

(3)  Only  those  plants  should  be  grouped  to- 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


gether  which  have  in  the  beginning  the  same 
relative  height  that  they  attain  in  proportion  to 
one  another  when  full  grown  ; for  instance,  do 
not  set  a young  white  lilac  one  foot  high  with  a 
grown  Persian  lilac  four  feet  high,  because  the 
relative  proportions  of  the  two  would  before  long 
be  reversed. 

If  all  plants  are  mixed  as  they  happen  to  grow, 
young  and  old  together,  they  will,  of  course, 
finally  come  to  their  full  stature,  but  for  a con- 
siderable time  they  will  make  a confused,  and 
therefore  undesirable,  effect.  In  explanation  see 
the  accompanying  vignette,  which  shows  a mix- 
ture of  shrubs  blooming  in  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer. 

This  model  can,  of  course,  be  varied  indefi- 
nitely, though  a dozen  different  patterns  might 
be  sufficient,  which,  as  a matter  of  convenience 
and  approved  effectiveness,  might  be  repeated  in 
part  or  entire  throughout  the  “ pleasure-ground.” 
I wager  that  no  one  will  notice  that  there  are 
only  twelve  different  patterns,  but  a garden  de- 
signed in  accordance  with  this  principle  will  pro- 
duce a much  greater  variety  of  effects  than  one 
where  the  patterns  are  indiscriminately  mixed, 
although  the  latter  should  contain  a much  greater 
variety  of  plants.  Besides,  one  may,  if  one  will, 
take  twenty-four  instead  of  twelve  such  patterns, 
but  should  always  proceed  methodically,  for  with- 
out this  precaution,  nothing  succeeds  in  art. 

The  pattern  I have  given  is  a very  simple  one 
with  only  the  most  ordinary  kinds  of  plants  that 


L^hnis\^iariaf3. pleno  rrfU.  s/tat 

Swings perficft  Wa-. 

Campanilla  medium  rrrrrncr>..-,^^>^f^7rrrrr-r^i Atn^Slaa,  s/iät 

CiHifod  «l<n^|atVL3 

SSbdn^  -vutgio-is  fl. coer uleo  -■^•■.v... .■■f;.'<-^.-.-..-.-^  M/Jlasi-,  jhi^ 

LiHtim  buBaifemim ^ ■■  y. onm^e, 

K«bun  odoratus  ......T.T7.vv.y.-.:r.. Tvffr,  spät 

Spiraea  l^^pericifolia -rii-T-rrr— — jhlh 

Lomeesa  tarCanea  fl.  rtdn’o,  Tvih  iruTi 

' Kibe*  aareum ^uJ^ 

* Lnaaria  vederiva  ■-. spät 

*’  Rosa  cent^Ha.  spät 

? «Idmsi«*  .. -.%^-r:Tr«-.v*-r=-r«  fn/Tt 

'(  S^^in^a  -vulj^ajria  K.  aibo  /r,uß,  ftiä/ 


/Ip.  Khus  Cotmug  traun.  spät: 

Potesiilla  irutieesa ^dä.  spät: 

^ Syringa  -vulgaris  fl.  mbro Muar^  ytvä/ 

>/S.  Spiraea  i‘alicif©lia.Ärubro..^.-5.«-j.^.-,.^r'.— .-r..^-^-..  sp4l 

/ß  Isritßsüdt/u>  Mi;äai/ resa-.  spät. 

2ß  ßeth^tmd^  TVthe' 

Bipaver  ibracteata  '/urärciA;  ßiät- 

^ iHladelpkus  coronarius  spät 

3ä  Craetaegua  02da  caiitha  ß,  pleno  nibro ...  danksShsf  spät- 

M Co!Mtea,arbore0ens  ...,«ac-=fsss*s«nr"i^^  S^t,  spät. 

fapaver  Irracteata  . . ^ ■ .pv»-»  i"» . .-.g^  /uxAsviAi  Jru'^ 

ß1rst7itypfr/it Ittät/i/ ..  - rosof.  spat 

^p-  7u2flt/ls  .-rm i ■ ■ -j» . . I— - . ....f  <^eZä unsl rtih.  ßüA 

ßiS  fuuA/zss-dusc/i  anäc/T  .?amnter^?um^  ?seri:^n(  iunt^  spät- 


Plate  XLIII.  A Diagram  showing  Arrangement  of  Shrubs  and  Herbaceous  Plants 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


77 


any  one  can  obtain.  Here  is  a proper  field  for 
the  ladies,  who  may  transfer  their  embroidery 
patterns  in  animated  form  into  their  gardens  with 
free  play  to  their  innate  fine  sense  of  color. 

A FINAL  WORD  ON  AVENUES 

I by  no  means  condemn  regularity  for  ave- 
nues, though  they  rarely  look  well  planted  in  this 
way  until  the  trees  have  attained  to  a ripe  old 
age.  But  trees  so  planted  are  useful  for  various 
purposes,  such  as  a border  for  highways,  for 
avenues  to  large  palaces,  etc.  Three  points,  how- 
ever, must  be  observed  here : first,  the  avenues 
should  be  very  wide,  avoiding  long  stretches  of 
straight  lines;  second,  a double  row  of  trees 
should  be  set  rather  closely  together  on  either 
side  wherever  possible,  these  two  rows  being  sub- 
sequently again  thinned  out  so  as  to  permit  the 
remaining  trees  to  attain  to  their  normal  growth ; 
third,  only  trees  suitable  for  the  purpose  should 
be  taken  ; that  is,  trees  that  are  shapely,  perma- 
nent, and  that  throw  a good  shade.  In  our  coun- 
try elms  and  oaks  in  sandy  soil,  lindens,  chest- 
nuts, or  maples  in  richer  soil,  and  acacias  in 
protected  positions.  Money  laid  out  on  the  soil 
in  the  beginning  to  prepare  it  for  the  finer  kinds 
of  trees  is  well  spent,  since  poplars  and  birches, 
which  grow  anywhere,  are  ugly  in  avenues  and 
not  so  enduring  as  other  trees.  Following  a sug- 
gestion which  I brought  home  from  Chelten- 
ham, I am  trying  on  my  estate  a method  which 


Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


has  so  far  not  been  applied  to  avenues,  but  from 
which  I expect  the  best  results,  especially  in  a 
sandy  region  like  ours.  I run  a furrow,  wide  or 
narrow  according  to  the  locality,  along  both 
sides  of  the  road,  which,  following  the  English 
way,  slopes  toward  both  sides  with  subterranean 
drainage  where  necessary  and  a few  side  gutters. 
This  furrow  is  closely  packed  with  young  trees 
as  in  a grove,  mixing  in  with  them  here  and 
there  groups  of  larger  trees  which  form  a kind 
of  continuous,  irregular  avenue  rising  above  the 
undergrowth.  Where  I do  not  own  the  adjacent 
ground,  I continue^  these  high  groups  without 
the  undergrowth  in  a narrow  strip  along  the 
road.  (See  Plate  IV,  g.)  The  trees  are  generally 
treated  as  undergrowth  or  underbrush  and  are 
pruned  every  six  or  ten  years,  while  the  larger 
trees  are  left  to  grow  undisturbed.  In  this  way 
even  barren  regions  will  soon  appear  attractive 
when  seen  from  the  road ; and  a variety  of  effects 
may  be  produced  subsequently  by  various  differ- 
ent modes  of  treatment,  allowing  larger  masses 
to  grow  high,  carefully  trimming  some  of  the 
older  trees,  keeping  others  down,  etc.,  or,  finally, 
the  landscape,  where  it  is  unattractive,  may  be 
hidden  by  a wall  of  greenery.  Should  some  of  the 
larger  trees  that  have  been  set  out  die  off  in  the 
course  of  time,  or  not  thrive  well,  the  neighbor- 
ing trees  may  be  allowed  to  grow  up,  and  in  this 
case  any  kind  of  tree  that  thrives  well  may  be 
used.  This  mode  of  treatment  will  do  away  with 
unsightly  bare  spaces  and  make  a natural  avenue 


Trees  and  Shrubs 


79 


which  will  lighten  in  appearance  the  most  bar- 
ren of  heath  and  pine  woods,  forming  an  easy 
transition  between  them,  while  the  long  rows  of 
soldier-like  Lombardy  poplars  which  one  sees  far 
off  through  the  black  pines  brings  genuine  de- 
spair to  any  one  who  has  the  remotest  idea  of  the 
picturesque.  For  myself,  at  least,  when  my  ill 
star  leads  me  along  such  avenues  I try  to  escape 
this  desolate  feeling  by  closing  my  eyes  and  forc- 
ing myself  to  sleep. 


Chapter  VIII 

Roads  and  Raths 


Roads  and  paths  should  be,  above  all,  firm, 
and  as  dry  as  possible.  Were  I writing  this 
book  for  English  readers  I could  pass  over  this 
point  entirely,  since  the  construction  of  the  roads 
there  is  fairly  adequate,  but,  as  we  are  still  very 
much  behind  in  this  respect,  a few  words  on  the 
technical  aspect  of  this  question  will  not,  I think 
be  superfluous  at  the  end  of  this  chapter.  Good 
roads  and  paths  are,  of  course,  expensive,  and 
this,  as  I was  frequently  told,  is  the  chief  reason 
why  there  are  so  few  roads  and  paths  in  English 
parks  and  a drive  entirely  round  the  estate  so 
seldom  to  be  found,  and  often,  where  a path 
leads  from  the  “pleasure-ground”  into  the  park, 
it  stops  suddenly  at  the  iron  fence  which  encloses 
the  former  and  from  that  point  one  has  to  wade 
painfully  through  wet  grass  and  other  disagree- 
able features.  We  could,  considering  the  differ- 
ent value  of  money  in  the  two  countries,  get 
much  more  from  the  outlay  if  we  should  follow 
different  methods.  For  what  is  the  good  of  a 
park  that  presents  the  same  recurring  picture 
from  a few  points  of  view,  a park  where  I am 
never  led,  as  by  an  invisible  hand,  to  the  most 
beautiful  spots,  seeing  and  comprehending  the 


Roads  and  Paths 


8i 


picture  in  its  entirety  and  at  my  ease  ? This  is 
the  purpose  of  roads  and  paths,  and  while  they 
should  not  be  unnecessarily  multiplied,  too  many 
are  better  than  too  few.  Roads  and  paths  are  the 
dumb  conductors  of  the  visitor  and  should  serve 
in  themselves  to  guide  him  easily  toward  every 
spot  which  can  afford  enjoyment.  Roads  and 
paths,  therefore,  should  not  be  too  conspicuous, 
but  should  be  carefully  laid  out  and  concealed  by 
plantations : I mean  too  conspicuous  in  the  Eng- 
lish sense,  where  a property  of  one  thousand  acres 
has  only  one  or  two  main  roads  or  paths  ; yet  the 
opposite  system  of  our  imitation  English  gardens, 
where  often  two  or  three  adjacent  paths  all  show 
the  same  points  of  view  and  lead  to  the  same 
spot,  is  also  very  objectionable. 

It  follows  from  what  I have  said  elsewhere 
that  the  roads  and  paths  should  not  run  in  con- 
tinual curves  like  a serpent  wound  round  a stick, 
but  should  rather  make  such  bends  as  serve  a de- 
finite purpose  easily  and  effectively,  following  as 
far  as  possible  the  natural  contours  of  the  ground. 
Certain  aesthetic  rules  dictate  these  bends  in 
themselves,  and  hence  in  places  obstacles  must 
be  set  up  where  they  do  not  naturally  occur  in 
order  to  make  the  graceful  line  appear  natural. 
For  instance,  two  curves  close  together  in  the  same 
road  or  path  seen  at  the  same  time  do  not  look 
well.  If  this  cannot  be  entirely  avoided,  then  a 
sharp  turn  should  be  relieved  by  a larger,  more 
rounded  turn,  and  the  former  should  seem  justi- 
fied by  trees  or  plantations  on  the  inner  side,  or 


82  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


by  elevations  where  the  road  or  path  is  appar- 
ently more  easily  led  around  than  over  them. 
(See  Plate  V,  a,  b,  c,  and  d.') 

If  there  is  no  obstacle  the  road  should  be  al- 
lowed to  run  straight  or  only  slightly  curved,  no 
matter  what  the  distance.  Wherever  an  obstacle 
appears,  it  is  better  to  make  a short  turn  close  to 
it  than  a long,  gradual  turn  for  the  sake  of  the 
so-called  curve  of  beauty.  The  sharp  turns  are 
by  far  the  more  picturesque,  especially  if  the 
road  disappears  with  such  a turn  in  the  depths  of 
a forest.  Nor  should  a road  running  parallel  with 
another  be  visible  from  it  unless  there  is  a dis- 
tinct division  of  hill  and  valley  between,  or  a dip 
in  the  ground,  for  without  this  natural  division 
two  adjacent  paths  leading  in  the  same  direction 
appear  superfluous,  especially  when  they  are  on 
the  same  level,  for  the  mind  must  recognize  the 
fitness  of  the  details  before  the  eye  will  be  satis- 
fied by  the  entire  picture. 

In  a landscape  of  wide  sweep,  especially,  the 
form  given  to  the  grass  plots  by  the  enclosing 
roads  must  be  carefully  considered.  One  may 
entirely  spoil  an  extensive  territory  by  a short 
piece  of  road  badly  arranged.  I call  to  mind  one 
example  which  first  attracted  my  attention  to  this 
point.  There  is  a hill  in  my  park  which  extends 
out  conspicuously  into  a wide  stretch  of  meadow, 
thereby  apparently  dividing  it  into  two  equal 
parts.  The  river  flows  along  this  entire  stretch  of 
country  and  a road  follows  its  course.  (See  ground- 
plan,  Plate  V,  e.')  Observe  particularly  the  line  of 


Plate  V.  Arrangements  of  Roads  and  Paths 


Roads  and  Paths 


83 


the  ridge  indicated  by  the  shading  in  the  plan, 
being  the  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, as  well  as  the  two  markedly  divided 
portions  of  the  meadows  which  are  overlooked 
by  a certain  building  on  the  height.  Another 
road  leads  to  this  building  along  the  upper  side, 
and  for  the  sake  of  convenience  I required  a foot- 
path connecting  the  two  roads  which  had  to  be 
at  the  left  side  leading  to  the  castle.  I first  laid 
it  down  as  in  Plate  V,  where  the  ascent  is  eas- 
iest, this  being  the  line  it  would  follow  in  ac- 
cordance with  ordinary  rules;  yet  I was  never 
satisfied  with  it,  and  although  I changed  the  line 
ten  times,  the  path  persisted  in  spoiling  the  har- 
mony of  the  view.  It  finally  occurred  to  me  that, 
since  the  hill  once  for  all  conspicuously  divided 
the  prospect  into  two  almost  symmetrical  por- 
tions, the  path  interrupting  the  stretch  of 
meadow  would  have  to  follow  the  same  direction 
so  as  not  to  destroy  the  harmony,  or,  so  to  speak, 
the  balance,  of  the  picture;  for  there  is  a certain 
kind  of  undefined,  hidden  symmetry  in  which 
there  is  no  contradiction  whatever,  but  which, 
in  order  to  produce  a satisfactory  effect,  must  be 
evident  in  every  expanded  arrangement  of  this 
kind.  As  soon  as  I changed  the  line  of  the  path 
in  agreement  with  this  principle  (see  x),  the 
matter  was  arranged  satisfactorily.  It  may  take 
a practiced  eye  to  understand  this  point  on  the 
plan,  but  the  advantages  gained  by  the  change 
may  be  perceived  by  any  one  on  the  ground. 

Drives  should  be  laid  out  so  that  chief  points 


84  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


of  interest  and  the  most  noteworthy  objects  in 
the  entire  park  may  be  visited  one  after  another 
without  passing  the  same  object  twice  — at  least 
not  in  the  same  direction  — on  the  round  trip. 
This  problem  is  frequently  a peculiar  one  to  solve. 
I may  say  I have  given  a good  example  in  my 
park  and  it  has  cost  me  almost  as  much  labor  as 
the  building  of  labyrinths  may  have  cost  our  an- 
cestors. The  footpaths  also  must  run  into  one 
another  with  this  end  in  view,  affording  many 
separate  paths,  apparently  undesigned,  which 
should  be  connected  so  as  to  leave  a wide  lati- 
tude of  choice.  Where  one  or  several  of  the 
main  roads  or  paths  through  the  park  are  in- 
tended to  serve  as  an  approach  (as  it  is  called  in 
English)  to  the  castle  or  dwelling-house,  it  should 
be  concealed  for  a time  to  make  the  road  appear 
long  and  more  extended ; but  once  the  destina- 
tion has  come  into  view,  it  is  not  well  to  allow 
the  road  to  turn  off  any  more  unless  there  be  a 
mountain  or  lake  or  other  palpable  obstacle  for 
which  the  road  must  deviate. 

The  customary  drive  around  the  whole  park 
should  in  every  respect  be  the  opposite  of  the 
encircling  belt  as  designed  by  Brown  (which  I 
have  already  censured),  which  runs  continually 
on  and  on  by  a monotonous  plantation  around  the 
wall.  This  driveway  should,  on  the  contrary,  be 
laid  out  so  that  the  vicinity  of  the  boundary  is 
nowhere  suspected ; therefore,  relatively  large 
plots  of  grass,  visible  if  possible  at  one  glance, 
should  be  massed  between  the  boundary  line  and 


Roads  and  Paths 


8s 


the  park  road,  and  while  the  latter  should  lead 
to  the  finest  spots  in  the  domain,  it  should  also 
quite  as  often  open  out  views  (over  the  hidden 
fence)  outside  of  the  park  as  well  as  inside.  This 
can  be  managed,  as  was  described  in  Chapter  III 
(“Enclosure”),  by  a ha-ha  or  some  other  de- 
vice. Care  must  be  taken  also,  by  the  appropri- 
ate placing  and  disposition  of  the  plantations,  to 
make  the  roads,  as  one  goes  in  and  out,  present 
different  views.  This  obviously  doubles  their  in- 
terest and  can  be  achieved  by  the  disposition  of 
the  bordering  plantations,  which,  so  to  speak, 
should  compel  the  visitor  to  see  one  part  of  the 
landscape  on  arrival  and  another  on  departure. 
At  any  specially  fine  point  it  is  well  to  lead  the 
road  for  some  time  in  full  view  of  it,  to  allow 
one  to  enjoy  it  more  completely  and  not  to  let 
it  be  visible  merely  to  a hasty  glance  whereby 
its  beauties  can  be  easily  overlooked. 

I hold  it  to  be  unnecessary  to  make  the  roads 
in  a park  as  broad  as  in  a highway,  only  five  or 
six  feet  wide  for  footpaths  and  ten  to  fourteen 
feet  for  drives.  For  public  gardens  another  scale 
of  widths  may  be  advisable. 

The  construction  of  drives  and  footpaths  in  a 
park  is  very  much  the  same,  the  whole  difference 
lying  in  the  thickness  of  the  stone  foundation.  I 
have  myself  taken  the  following  course  with  the 
best  and  most  durable  results : — 

The  bed  for  both  path  and  drive  must  first  be 
dug  out  two,  one,  or  only  half  a foot  deep  re- 
spectively, and  where  there  are  watercourses,  or 


86  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


water  is  liable  to  gather,  a drain  with  sufficient 
inclination  must  be  built  underneath,  also  lateral 
drains  leading  into  it  from  both  sides  of  the  road 
protected  from  above  by  an  iron  grating,  through 
which  the  water  may  run  down  freely.  Where 
there  are  steep  banks  along  the  drive  or  path, 
stone  gutters  may  be  built  alongside  of  them  be- 
tween the  drains  so  as  to  prevent  the  earth  from 
being  swept  away,  or  if  the  stone  gutters  are  too 
expensive  the  same  purpose  may  be  attained  by 
using  a mixture  of  tar  and  rosin.  In  the  park  I 
sometimes  have  opened  ditches,  constructed  to 
save  expense  on  one  or  both  sides  of  the  road, 
and  slanting  ridges  in  the  park  itself,  which 
serve  the  same  purpose,  but  do  not  look  so  well. 
Where  there  is  little  water  to  be  considered,  one 
need  not  wall  up  the  subterranean  drains,  but 
simply  fill  them  up  with  large  field  stones  or  lay 
them  with  the  hollow  tiles  I have  spoken  of  in 
Chapter  VI,  in  the  section  on  the  drainage  of 
meadows.  For  the  drives,  stones  broken  as  small 
as  possible  (in  my  park  granite  stones)  are  laid 
six  inches  thick  and  stamped  with  broad  wooden 
stampers  in  order  to  make  them  assume  a slightly 
arched  form,  and  on  this  spread  fine  coal  ashes, 
mixed  with  broken  brick,  two  inches  deep ; 
this  is  again  pounded  together  with  old  plaster 
and  building  refuse ; then  an  inch  of  coarse  river 
gravel.  Finally,  the  whole  is  heavily  rolled  with 
iron  or  stone  rollers.  The  last  part  of  the  work, 
the  covering  with  the  gravel  and  the  rolling,  is 
generally  repeated  every  year,  or,  at  least,  every 


Roads  and  Paths 


87 


two  years.  Such  a road  is  sufficiently  strong  to 
bear  any  travel  imposed  upon  a parkway  and  has 
an  advantage  over  the  macadamized  roads  built 
in  England  in  that  it  is  smooth  and  even  as  soon 
as  it  is  finished  and  is  pleasant  for  driving,  while 
the  macadamized  roads,  which  consist  entirely 
of  broken  granite,  are  comfortable  only  after  con- 
siderable travel  has  smoothed  them  down,  being 
at  first  very  hard  on  horses  and  foot  travelers,  and 
even  later  broken  edges  of  the  stone  will  always 
protrude  here  and  there. 

Footpaths  I build  on  the  same  principle,  ex- 
cept that  I often  take  only  coal  ashes  or  broken 
clinkers,  mixed  with  plaster  or  building  refuse, 
instead  of  the  broken  stone,  and  cover  all  with 
fine  gravel.  (See  Plate  V,  f,  the  transverse  section 
of  the  road,  and  g,  the  surface.)  In  localities 
where  the  brownish,  so-called  “ Windsor  gravel  ” 
is  found,  — in  England  only  in  a few  districts 
of  the  kingdom,  — it  forms  a compact  mass,  and 
is  not  disturbed  by  moisture  as  easily  as  loam. 
In  order  to  make  a good  path,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  dump  a six-inch  layer  of  this  Windsor 
gravel  over  the  drain ; it  is  as  smooth  as  a par- 
quet floor,  never  requires  weeding,  and  needs 
only  to  be  picked  up  and  rolled  every  spring.  If 
one  does  not  possess  this  excellent  gravel,  the 
yellowish-brown  color  of  which  stands  out  so 
well  against  the  green  of  the  lawn,  the  drives 
must  be  weeded  as  often  as  twice  or  thrice  a year, 
which,  however,  is  necessary  only  on  the  borders, 
and  which,  as  well  as  the  clipping  of  the  grass 


88  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


edges,  can  be  done  by  women,  and  consequently 
need  not  be  very  expensive.  It  is  possible  that 
the  building  refuse  which  I recommend  as  bind- 
ing material  encourages  vegetation,  especially 
when  the  roads  are  little  used.  The  advantage, 
however,  so  much  outweighs  the  disadvantage 
that,  lacking  the  clay  gravel,  I know  no  better 
way  for  constructing  a road.  I have  formerly  at- 
tempted, by  a mixture  of  dried  clay  and  coarse 
river  gravel,  to  manufacture  the  Windsor  gravel 
artificially,  but  the  result  is  seldom  satisfactory, 
as  the  mixture  easily  goes  wrong,  and  then  does 
not  bind  sufficiently.  Later  on  I was  lucky  in 
finding  a gravel  similar  in  color  and  other  prop- 
erties to  the  Windsor  gravel.  For  economy  one 
can  also  make  use  of  what  we  call  here  “Gov- 
ernment roadways,” — that  is,  clay  with  ordinary 
gravel  spread  over  it,  — but  with  continuous  wet 
weather  and  in  winter  these  roads  are  always  bad. 

The  gravel  paths  must  in  summer  be  swept 
with  brooms,  and  in  wet  weather  must  some- 
times be  rolled,  and  will  then  be  always  in  good 
condition,  except,  perhaps,  on  thawing  after  a 
cold  winter;  but  even  after  a very  heavy  shower 
they  are  quite  dry  again.  Only,  I repeat,  it  is  an 
essential  condition  that  sufficient  outlet  be  fur- 
nished for  proper  drainage  of  water. 

Grass  drives  and  paths  also,  which  can  be  made 
by  laying  grass  sods,  must  have  on  top  of  the 
stone  foundation  half  a foot  of  earth  under  the 
grass  and  be  protected  with  covered  or  open 
drains  to  last  well  for  riding  ; they  are  then  more 
agreeable  than  paved  roads. 


Roads  and  Paths 


89 


Finally,  I may  remark  that  for  the  subsoil  of 
a road  sand  is  the  best ; even  swampy  ground  is 
better  than  heavy,  impenetrable  clay,  which  will 
not  allow  water  readily  to  pass  through. 

If,  later  on,  depressions  and  bad  spots  show 
themselves,  these  need  only  to  be  picked  up, 
freshly  spread  with  coal  ashes,  builder’s  waste, 
and  gravel,  and  be  well  pounded.  In  very  bad 
weather,  especially  in  spring,  the  earth  that  has 
been  loosened  by  vehicles  should  be  scraped  off, 
and  as  soon  as  dry  weather  sets  in  the  yearly 
quota  of  gravel  should  be  spread  over,  the  river 
running  through  my  park  conveniently  furnish- 
ing the  necessary  material. 

The  chief  rules  for  roads  are  thus  limited  to 
the  following : — 

( 1 ) Lay  them  out  so  that  they  lead  insensibly 
to  the  finest  views. 

(2)  They  should  form  an  attractive  and  prac- 
tical line. 

(3)  They  should  divide  the  spaces  through 
which  they  run  into  picturesque  sections  if  those 
spaces  arc  visible  in  their  whole  extent. 

(4)  They  should  never  make  a turn  without 
the  requisite  obstacle  that  necessitates  it. 

(5)  Finally,  they  should  be  well  constructed 
and  should  always  be  hard,  smooth,  and  dry. 

I am  convinced  that  whoever  accurately  fol- 
lows these  rules  will  not  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
result,  and  if  the  locality  is  at  all  favorable,  the 
expense  will  be  found  to  be  considerably  less 
than,  perhaps,  is  expected. 


Chapter  IX 

Water 


Though  not  so  indispensable  to  landscape 
as  a rich  vegetation,  fresh  and  clear  water, 
whether  stream  or  lake,  greatly  increases  its  charm. 
Eye  and  ear  are  equally  delighted,  for  who  does 
not  hearken  with  delight  to  the  sweet  murmur  of 
the  brook,  the  distant  plashing  of  the  mill  wheels, 
the  prattling  of  the  pearly  spring  ? Who  has  not 
been  enchanted  in  quiet  hours  by  the  perfect 
calm  of  the  slumbering  lake  in  which  the  giants 
of  the  forest  are  dreamily  mirrored,  or  by  the 
aspect  of  foaming  waves,  chased  by  the  storm, 
where  the  sea-gulls  merrily  rock?  But  it  is  very 
difficult  for  the  artist  to  conquer  Nature  here, 
or  to  impose  on  her  what  she  herself  has  not 
created  on  the  spot. 

Therefore,  I would  advise  to  leave  undone 
altogether  a faulty  imitation.  A region  without 
water  can  still  present  many  beauties,  but  a bad- 
odored  swamp  infects  every  one  ; the  first  is  only 
a negative  fault ; the  second  a positive,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  owner  himself,  nobody  will 
take  a cesspool  of  this  kind  for  a lake,  or  a stag- 
nant ditch  overgrown  with  duckweed  for  a stream. 
But  if  one  can  by  any  means  guide  a running 
stream  into  one’s  own  property,  if  the  terrain 


Water 


91 


gives  any  prospect  of  it,  one  should  do  one’s  ut- 
most, and  forego  neither  expense  nor  pains  to  ac- 
quire such  a great  advantage ; for  nothing  offers 
such  an  endless  variety  to  the  beholder  as  does 
the  element  of  water. 

But  in  order  to  give  water,  artificially  ob- 
tained, whatever  form  it  may  take,  a natural, 
unforced  appearance,  much  trouble  is  necessary. 
In  the  whole  art  of  landscape  gardening,  per- 
haps nothing  is  more  difficult  to  accomplish. 
Englishmen  are  very  backward  in  this  matter ; 
even  the  ornamental  waters  of  Repton,  their  best 
landscape  artist,  which  I have  seen,  failed  in  many 
respects.  Mr.  Nash  alone  has  given  us  a few  fine 
samples  — Regent’s  Park  in  London  among 
others.* 

His  work  in  St.  James’s  Park  is  less  successful, 
though  the  task  here  was  perhaps  an  impossible 
one  on  account  of  the  small  territory.  His  mode 
of  procedure,  as  he  explained  it  to  me,  was  as 
simple  as  it  was  ingenious.  He  had  the  entire 
surface  of  the  ground  surveyed,  noting  all  the 
dips  and  elevations,  to  learn  where  an  inunda- 
tion might  find  its  natural  bed.  From  this  he 
constructed  in  a natural  manner  the  form  of  his 
artificial  waters,  only  digging  out  the  ground 
where  necessary.  He  thus  obtained  the  double 
advantage  of  a more  natural  outline  and  less  ex- 
pensive work.  In  most  parks  of  the  well-to-do 

* It  is  possible  that  equally  good  examples  are  to  be  found  in  the 
celebrated  work  of  Loudon  and  of  Mr.  Kennedy.  I do  not  know  these, 
however. 


92  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


English,  the  waters  are  still  the  parties  honteuses^ 
or  eye-sores  of  the  whole,  often  slimy,  very  sel- 
dom quite  concealing  their  artificial  origin. 

Several  of  the  rules  which  I have  given  for 
laying  out  roads  and  for  the  outlines  of  planta- 
tions can  be  readily  applied  to  the  shape  of  the 
water  effects.  As  in  the  former  case  one  can,  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements  of  the  terrain  and 
the  obstacles  that  occur,  bring  in  sometimes  long 
and  sometimes  short,  abrupt  bends,  making  pref- 
erably rounded  corners  rather  than  semicircles, 
sometimes  even  quite  sharp  turns  where  the 
water  is  visibly  diverted.  Both  banks  of  a stream 
or  brook  should  follow  fairly  parallel  lines,  yet 
with  various  nuances^  which  must  be  decided,  not 
according  to  one’s  fancy,  but  by  the  laws  deter- 
mined by  its  course.  Two  rules  hold  good  al- 
most universally : — 

(1)  The  side  toward  which  the  stream  turns 
should  have  a lower  bank  than  the  opposite,  be- 
cause the  higher  one  diverts  it. 

(2)  Where  the  current  of  the  water  suddenly 
becomes  swift  and  yet  needs  to  be  turned  aside 
lest  it  break  bounds  if  left  free,  a sharp  bend 
should  be  constructed  rather  than  a round  one 
and  a steeper  shore  should  signify  the  conflict. 
But  never  follow  what  our  gardeners  call  “noble 
lines.”*  I suppose  the  terrain  to  be  the  same  in 

• In  Berlin  I once  saw  in  a water  feature  such  imaginary  lines  of 
beauty  actually  following  a barrier  painted  green  and  on  an  open  lawn, 
without  any  obstacle  which  would  excuse  it,  running  on  in  regular 
curves  close  by  a straight  road.  This  must  have  doubled  the  cost  with- 
out arriving  at  any  result  but  that  of  making  the  owner  ridiculous. 


Plate  VI.  Diagrams  showing  Arrangements  of  Rivers,  Lakes,  and  Islands 


Water 


93 


both  cases.  The  old  practice  would  give  the  line 
of  the  stream  as  illustrated  in  Plate  VI,  a;  the 
student  of  Nature  will  try  to  make  it  something 
like  b. 

Frequently,  larger  and  smaller  promontories, 
as  well  as  deep  bays  tend  to  give  the  scene  a 
natural  appearance,  and  it  is  equally  effective  to 
vary  the  height  and  form  of  the  crown  or  upper 
part  of  the  bank.  One  must  be  careful  to  avoid 
high  finish  in  constructing  the  slope  of  the  bank 
in  such  a way  as  to  betray  the  artificial  work. 

An  exception  to  this  may  be  made  in  the 
case  of  the  pleasure-ground  ” ; but  here  also  it 
would  be  well  to  strike  a middle  course  between 
Nature  and  cultivation.  (See  Plate  VI,  <r,  for  the 
stiff,  and  for  the  more  natural,  bare  bank; 
€y  for  the  advantages  of  variety  in  the  banks  on 
both  sides.)  The  plantation  supplies  what  is  still 
lacking  and  completes  the  whole  by  the  free  play 
of  the  overhanging  branches.  It  would  hardly 
be  possible  to  give  an  entirely  natural  appearance 
to  an  artificial  bank  without  a plantation. 

If  one  would  like  a larger,  more  lakelike  ex- 
panse of  water,  which  is  especially  desirable  in 
the  view  from  the  mansion,  one  should  so  treat 
it  — partly  by  means  of  islands,  partly  by  very 
deep  bays,  the  limits  of  which  are  mostly  con- 
cealed in  shrubbery  — that  from  no  one  point 
the  whole  mass  of  water  can  be  overlooked,  but 
that  everywhere,  behind  the  thick  shrubbery,  the 
water  appears  to  flow  onward ; otherwise,  every 
piece  of  water  will  appear  small,  even  though  it 


94  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


should  take  an  hour  to  walk  round  it.  Open, 
grassy  banks,  single  high  trees,  woods,  and  thick- 
ets should  vary  the  effect  with  broad  spots  where 
the  sunlight  can  have  full  entry,  in  order  not  to 
deprive  the  water  'of  its  transparency  and  bril- 
liancy by  concealment.  A lake  whose  shores  are 
entirely  in  shadow  loses  much  of  its  effective- 
ness, as  the  water  reveals  all  its  magic  only  under 
the  full  rays  of  the  sun,  where  the  reflections 
from  above  appear  to  come  from  the  bottom  in 
transparent,  silvery  clearness.  I have  frequently 
seen  this  very  necessary  rule  quite  ignored  by 
unskillful  gardeners.  The  projecting  tongues  of 
land  must,  for  the  greater  part,  run  into  pointed, 
not  rounded  ends,  for  I cannot  sufficiently  dwell 
on  the  fact  that  no  line  in  picturesque  landscape 
is  more  unpropitious  than  that  taken  from  the 
circle,  especially  in  any  great  extent  of  space.  A 
tongue  of  land  which  ends  quite  in  a point,  and 
is  at  its  termination  almost  in  the  same  line  as 
the  water,  and  beyond  which  the  water  appears 
on  the  other  side,  makes  quite  a charming  variety, 
especially  when  a few  high-branched  trees  stand 
on  it,  and  where  one  looks  through  under  the 
foliage.  If  any  important  object  stands  near, — 
a building,  hill,  or  conspicuous  tree,  — plenty 
of  room  should  be  given  for  its  reflection  in  the 
water,  and  attention  should  be  drawn  to  the  pic- 
ture shimmering  in  its  depths  by  a path  or  bench 
placed  there  for  the  purpose. 

Water  plants,  reeds,  etc.,  the  various  species 
of  irises,  and  other  free-blooming  water  plants 


Water 


95 


in  the  “ pleasure-ground,”  are  extremely  useful. 
They  blend  the  different  parts  of  the  picture  in 
a light  and  agreeable  way.  Reeds  are  best  sown 
by  kneading  the  seeds  in  balls  of  clay  and  then 
throwing  them  into  the  water. 

(See,  for  the  above,  Plate  VI.  The  form y'is 
by  no  means  the  worst  which  I have  seen  car- 
ried out,  nor  will  I say  that  g is  the  best  for 
execution  ; but  the  latter  will  assuredly  make  a 
more  picturesque  effect,  and  from  no  point  of 
view  will  the  end  of  the  water  be  visible,  which 
is  one  of  the  chief  considerations.) 


Chapter  X 

Islands 


A LONELY  spot  in  a well-wooded  island, 
or  the  distant  view  of  a mass  of  arching 
foliage  swimming  on  the  crystal  surface  of  the 
water,  is  more  attractive  to  many  than  all  the 
charms  obtainable  on  dry  land.  This  pleasure 
also  must,  therefore,  be  sought  and  provided 
for. 

Islands  scattered  in  a large  lake  or  judiciously 
arranged  in  the  broad,  flowing  river  are  of  great 
assistance  and  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
whole  by  their  variety.  Here,  too,  the  example 
of  Nature  must  be  very  fully  studied.  It  is  re- 
markable how  seldom  this  is  the  case,  and  I can 
hardly  remember  having  seen  anywhere  an  arti- 
ficial island  which  did  not  betray  at  first  glance 
its  forced,  unnatural  origin.  Thus  I recently 
found,  even  in  the  small  celebrated  Royal  Gar- 
dens attached  to  Buckingham  House,  which  I 
have  highly  praised  elsewhere,  one  which  repre- 
sented more  the  picture  of  a pudding  in  its  sauce 
than  an  island  built  up  by  Nature.  It  is  true 
that  Nature  sometimes  indulges  in  peculiar  freaks, 
but  there  is  always  yV  ne  sals  quoi^  which  cannot 
be  attained  by  mere  imitation;  therefore,  it  be- 
comes us  to  follow  her  rules,  not  her  exceptions. 


Islands 


97 


just  as  the  painter  must  avoid  certain  true  effects, 
merely  because,  being  too  rare  or  too  difficult  to 
represent,  they  must  appear  unnatural  even  if 
they  should  not  be  so.  Here  also  one  may  ap- 
ply the  saying,  “ Le  vrai  souvent  nest  pas  vrai~ 
semblable.” 

Generally,  as  I have  said,  artificial  islands  can 
be  recognized  at  the  first  glance.  Their  shape  is 
either  oval  or  round,  sloping  down  equally  on  all 
sides,  and  planted  at  random  in  separate  patches. 
Nature  forms  them  quite  otherwise,  seldom  by 
building  up,  more  frequently  by  erosion.  For 
how  does  an  island  originate  ? It  is  made  by 
flowing  water,  and  there  are  laws  for  it.  Either 
a piece  of  land  which  has  withstood  the  pressure 
of  the  flood  by  its  height  and  solidity,  or  which 
has  been  forcibly  torn  away,  or  an  eminence 
which  is  quietly  surrounded  by  a stream  in  its 
course,  or  finally,  accumulated  soil  which  has 
been  borne  along  by  the  stream,  remains  after 
the  flood  has  receded  as  an  island  above  low 
water.  In  the  first  case  sudden  declivities  and 
corners  and  abrupt,  as  well  as  rounded,  lines 
will  appear.  (See  Plate  VII,  a.)  In  the  second 
and  third  case  (see  Plate  VII,  b'^y  the  ends  will 
nearly  always  be  sharply  pointed ; a rounded 
oval  will  seldom  be  the  result ; never  an  entirely 
rounded  island.  Islands  in  the  middle  of  a stream, 
or,  at  least,  those  at  some  distance  from  the 
bank,  mostly  take  the  shapes  here  indicated. 
Single  obstructions  produce  different  shapes ; for 
instance,  a break  in  the  side  will  probably  result 


98  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


in  shape  c (see  Plate  VII,  c)  with  some  incidental 
nuances  in  the  detail  of  the  line. 

Where  the  water  flowing  swiftly  into  a basin 
forms  an  island  at  the  inlet,  it  will  take  about 
the  shape  of  d (Plate  VII,  ; following  the  outer 
banks,  the  swiftly  flowing  stream,  by  its  strong 
pressure  on  both  sides,  will  somewhat  round  the 
ends.  But  if  the  river  widens  into  a lake  by 
gently  filling  a deep  basin,  rather  than  by  rush- 
ing into  it,  then  e (Plate  VII,  f)  may  be  assumed 
as  the  natural  shape,  for  here  the  river  does  not 
round  OS'  both  sides,  but  forms,  in  a slow  cur- 
rent on  the  right,  a long  spit  on  the  left  bank, 
beyond  which  the  quiet  water,  no  longer  in  a 
powerful  stream,  gently  flows  round  the  higher 
ground.  Very  seldom,  on  the  other  hand,  does 
a stream  flow  into  a basin  as  is  generally  made 
out,  after  the  model  of  a bottle.  (See  Plate 
VII,/) 

Let  the  surface  and  shelving  of  an  island  on 
the  same  principle  be  constructed  in  accordance 
with  the  probable  effect  of  the  terrain  and  the 
water  which  washes  it.  The  equal  shelving  on 
all  sides  with  equality  of  height  throughout  is 
the  commonest  mistake.  I fell  into  this  error 
at  first.  (See  the  objectionable  form  g and  the 
better  form  i»,  in  Plate  VII;  g is  bad  and  h is 
good.) 

But  even  the  best  forms  may  be  bettered  by 
plantations  skillfully  arranged,  covering  the  spots 
that  appear  less  satisfactory  and  giving  more 
variety  to  the  surface  without  disturbing  the 


Plate  VII.  A Diagram  showing  Different  Arrangements  of  Islands 


Islands 


99 


harmony,  concerning  which  the  right  feeling 
certainly  must  again  decide,  united  taste  and  ex- 
perience recognizing  the  proper  course,  which 
cannot  be  altogether  taught  by  correct  rule. 
What  has  been  said  about  shrubberies  applies 
also  to  islands,  since  the  former  may  be  consid- 
ered as  islands  of  shrubs  on  the  lawn.  I append 
here  only  two  examples,  i and  i,  which  can  be 
much  modified.  Islands  planted  down  to  the 
water’s  edge  cannot  be  quite  failures,  be  their 
shape  what  it  may,  and  if  the  construction  is 
poor,  it  is  the  only  alternative.  I should  never 
recommend  leaving  the  island  entirely  unplanted, 
even  if  it  is  of  a very  good  form,  since  the  bare 
outline  of  Nature,  if  I may  so  express  it,  is  the 
most  difficult  of  all  to  imitate.  Finally,  one 
must  confess  that,  with  all  our  endeavors  to  em- 
ulate Nature,  she  yet  retains  in  petto  something 
unattainable,  and  says  to  us  poor  human  beings, 
“ Thus  far  and  no  farther.” 


Chapter  XI 

Rocks 


IT  is  a doubtful  task  to  make  rocks,  and  where 
Nature  does  not  supply  the  real  thing  in  the 
neighborhood  so  that  it  can  be  blasted  and  built 
up  again  in  its  old  form,  no  one  can  quite  reach 
his  ideal  by  any  imitation. 

But  there  is  a middle  course  for  which  Na- 
ture likewise  supplies  models ; that  is,  masses  of 
heaped-up  stones  driven  together  by  floods  or 
mountain  streams,  which,  without  human  agency, 
present  something  of  a rocky  character  and  are 
at  least  extremely  picturesque. 

This  genre  can  be  well  imitated,  and  one  only 
needs  to  be  careful  to  make  such  piles  consistent 
by  allowing  isolated  pieces  of  rock  to  lie  about 
in  the  vicinity  and  by  placing  the  rocks  so  that 
they  emerge  from  earth,  plantation,  or  water, 
and  are  only  partially  visible,  never  in  their  whole 
circumference.  They  may  also  occasionally  be 
connected  with  a stretch  of  wall  built  of  blasted 
field  stone,  as  if,  for  some  purpose,  say  recon- 
structing a bridge  or  supporting  a steep  bank, 
one  had  merely  taken  advantage  of  the  rocks 
which  had  naturally  accumulated  and  had  sup- 
plemented the  rest  with  a wall  for  the  same 
purpose.  This  supplies  the  opportunity  to  col- 


Plate  VIII.  An  Artificial  Waterfall  with  Rock  Dam 


Rocks 


lOI 


lect  such  plants  as  demand  a rocky  soil,  and 
which  are  often  very  ornamental,  especially  near 
water,  where  such  rock-work  is  most  desirable 
for  a bulkhead,  dam,  strong  wall,  etc.,  and  in  a 
large  park  they  are  almost  indispensable. 

A slight  artistic  touch  which  can  be  recom- 
mended is  to  set  the  stones  in  a slanting  direc- 
tion, as  if  they  had  been  forced  up  in  that 
manner,  and  to  make  one  or  more  of  the  edges 
stand  out  conspicuously,  which  gives  the  whole 
a more  picturesque  and  bold  aspect.  As  an  ex- 
ample for  illustration  I append  the  drawings  of 
two  dams  and  a supporting  wall  which  have 
been  built  according  to  these  principles  on  my 
estate.  (See  Plates  VIII,  IX,  and  X.) 

The  dams  were  built  from  the  foundation,  as 
far  as  they  were  not  visible,  of  brick,  in  a rock 
wall,  and  then  covered  and  overlapped  with 
pieces  of  rock,  while,  of  course,  needful  care 
was  taken  to  obtain  the  most  picturesque  fall  of 
water,  which  must,  by  no  means,  be  left  to 
chance,  and  also  to  arrange  the  shrubberies  and 
plantations  suitably. 


Chapter  XII 

Earthworks  and  Esplanades 


There  E not  much  to  be  said  about  this 
subject,  except  that  such  works  should  be 
avoided  as  much  as  possible.  The  natural  un- 
evenness of  the  terrain  is,  as  a rule,  more  pictur- 
esque than  inequalities  painfully  wrought  out  by 
art.  Artificial  hills  generally  make  little  effect, 
and  should  be  made  only  where  necessary  in 
order  to  obtain  a view  from  their  summits,  to 
give  additional  height  to  a plantation,  or  to 
get  rid  of  the  earth  dug  from  a lake.  The  direc- 
tions given  for  islands  may  be  substantially  fol- 
lowed here,  since  water  has  often  contributed  to 
the  shaping  of  the  natural  elevations,  partly 
rounding  them  or  partly  tearing  them  away. 
The  surfaces  and  sides  should  be  alternated  by 
steep  and  more  gradual  lines  without  running 
into  confusion,  and  plantations  should  do  the 
rest. 

When  fine  old  trees  that  you  do  not  wish  to 
remove  happen  to  stand  on  a spot  to  be  filled 
in,  the  custom  in  England  is  to  surround  them 
with  a kind  of  well  constructed  of  stones,  in 
which  air  and  moisture  can  penetrate  to  the 
roots.  With  oaks,  however,  this  is  not  necessary. 
I have  been  surprised  to  find  that  old  as  well  as 


Earthworks  and  Esplanades 


103 


young  oaks  may  be  buried  up  to  one  third  of 
their  height  without  suffering  in  the  least. 

Although  in  general  a certain  undulation  of 
the  terrain  is  advisable,  at  times  an  excellent 
effect  is  brought  about  by  making  the  bottom 
of  little  valleys,  having  steep  surroundings,  quite 
level.  We  often  find  such  formations  in  Nature 
which  charm  us  by  the  contrast. 

On  meadows,  as  a rule,  here  and  there  the 
little  ups  and  downs  must  be  leveled,  for  practi- 
cal reasons  as  well  as  appearance,  but  larger  un- 
dulations of  the  terrain  should  in  no  case  be 
unnecessarily  disturbed.  But  if,  nevertheless,  it 
is  desirable  for  other  reasons  to  remove  and  level 
any  considerable  height,  and  any  fine  trees  hap- 
pen to  be  standing  there  which  should  not  be 
removed,  then  I advise  leaving  them  standing 
on  single  small  hillocks  {tertres)  which  give  the 
meadow  still  more  variety,  for  which  reason  I 
have  often  deliberately  planted  in  this  way  and 
with  good  results.  In  this  connection  I will  add 
a remark  that  would  have  been  more  in  place 
in  a former  chapter.  If  it  is  desired  to  select  the 
best  point  of  view  from  which  to  see  an  unusu- 
ally fine  tree  or  group  of  trees,  this  must  be 
sought,  not  at  the  foot  of  the  group,  but  from  a 
point  about  half  its  height,  if  possible  from  a 
steep  slope,  and  at  a distance  double  its  height. 
It  will  then  appear  twice  as  imposing  as  if  seen 
from  the  foot,  where  one  must  look  up  to  it. 

In  all  soil  removals,  where  no  gravel  plots, 
roads,  or  houses  are  intended,  the  humus  or  top 


104  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


soil  must  be  carefully  removed  and  spread  over 
the  finished  surface  again,  as  everybody  knows, 
yet  I have  seen  this  precaution  neglected  more 
often  than  one  would  think. 


Chapter  XIII 

Maintenance 


Having  explained  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ters how  a landscape  may  be  ennobled  and 
in  a way  created  by  art,  I conclude  with  a few 
words  as  to  its  maintenance.  It  is  quite  impos- 
sible to  plant  a large,  extensive  park  so  that  it 
will  present  the  same  picture  when  full  grown 
as  it  did  at  the  beginning,  except  on  an  altered 
scale,  and  so  that  the  objects  in  it  shall  be  for- 
ever after  in  the  right  relation  to  one  another ; 
for  Nature  cannot  be  calculated  so  accurately 
and  it  would  also  take  too  much  time. 

Here  we  meet  with  the  drawbacks  of  our  art, 
in  a certain  sense,  though  it  may  also  be  regarded 
as  an  advantage.  For  it  is  impossible  to  create  a 
finished,  permanent  work  of  art  in  landscape 
gardening,  such  as  the  painter,  sculptor,  and 
architect  are  able  to  produce,  because  our  ma- 
terial is  not  inanimate,  but  living ; we  can  say 
of  the  landscape  gardeners’  art,  as  of  all  Nature’s 
own  pictures,  as  Fichte  said  of  the  German  lan- 
guage, “ It  is  about  to  be,  but  never  is  ” ; that 
is,  it  never  stands  still,  can  never  be  fixed  and 
left  to  itself.  Hence  a skillful  guiding  hand  is 
always  necessary  for  works  of  this  kind.  If  the 
hand  is  lacking  too  long,  they  not  only  deterio- 


io6  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


rate,  they  become  something  quite  different ; but 
if  the  hand  is  present,  beauties  are  continually 
being  added  without  losing  or  sacrificing  those 
already  in  existence.  The  chief  tool  which  we 
use  — that  is,  our  brush  and  chisel  — is  the  spade 
for  construction;  the  chief  tool  for  maintenance  and 
improvement  is  the  axe.  It  must  not  rest  for  a 
single  winter,  or  it  will  happen  to  us  with  the 
trees  as  with  the  water-carriers  in  the  tale  of  the 
“Wizard’s  Apprentice”  — they  will  grow  over 
our  heads. 

But  the  axe  is  just  as  necessary  for  keeping 
the  plantations  everywhere  at  the  right  height 
as  for  attaining  the  right  density,  for  giving  them 
plenty  of  air,  and  for  providing  against  over- 
crowding. As,  moreover,  thinning  is  the  quick- 
est and  lightest  work,  and  in  winter  there  is  not 
much  else  to  be  done,  there  is  always  plenty  of 
time  for  it,  provided  one  never  misses  a year. 

To  keep  large  masses  of  mixed  plantations  at 
a given  height  one  must  not,  as  it  were,  decapi- 
tate them  all,  but  only  regularly  every  year  cut 
out  the  highest  growth,  which  then  for  the 
greater  part  will  produce  new  undergrowth,  and 
after  a certain  term  of  years  will  begin  in  turn 
to  be  the  highest.  In  this  manner  the  planta- 
tions appear  always  of  the  same  age  and  natural 
form,  a piece  of  art  of  which  it  may  be  truly 
said  that  it  is  a pity  that  it  cannot  be  applied  to 
mankind. 

Where  there  are  narrow  vistas,  single  trees 
must  be  decapitated  here  and  there,  but  this  can 


Maintenance 


107 

be  done  so  that  the  tree  will  not  be  disfigured, 
at  least,  not  when  it  is  covered  with  leaves.  The 
evergreens  must  be  cut  close  exactly  at  the  crown 
of  the  branches,  — I mean  at  the  base  of  one 
of  its  yearly  growths,  — and  then  the  branches 
tied  together.  This  conceals  the  operation  very 
quickly.  With  deciduous  trees  also  the  branches 
must  be  cut  out  only  where  another  branch  is 
growing  close  by,  so  that  a naked  stump  is  never 
left  conspicuous.  The  oftener  groups  of  this  sort 
are  skillfully  cut,  the  less  will  be  the  work  and 
the  more  thick  and  natural  will  they  grow.  I 
repeat,  however,  that  one  must  not  miss  any- 
thing, and  at  the  outset  one  should  calculate  how 
high  the  plantations  are  intended  to  be,  for  after 
too  long  neglect  it  is  difficult  to  regulate  them 
without  damage. 

I have  said  before  that  density  and  vigorous 
growth  in  vegetation  can  be  got  only  by  thin- 
ning the  plantations.  This  is  most  important ; 
otherwise  one  rears  nothing  but  wooden  sticks, 
which  at  times  may  find  place  in  a park  for  the 
sake  of  variety,  but  their  presence  cannot  be  con- 
sidered the  rule.  For  free  development  on  all 
sides  every  plant  requires  as  much  light  and  air 
as  it  can  obtain  consistently  with  the  health, 
density,  and  luxuriousness  of  all.  This  is  the 
freedom  of  the  trees,  that  freedom  which  we 
human  beings  also  desire  so  much  for  our- 
selves. 

Large  sections  of  forests,  which  are  not  in- 
tended to  be  in  the  nature  of  a grove,  are  treated 


io8  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


simply  in  forester’s  style;  that  is,  at  stated  pe- 
riods they  are  thinned  out  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  wood ; with  birches,  sixty  to  eighty 
(because  birches  in  shade  when  cut  down  recover 
with  difficulty)  ; with  other  kinds,  about  one 
hundred  larger  trees  can  be  left  standing  on  an 
acre.  The  only  alteration  which  I permit  myself 
is  that  the  larger  trees  are  left  standing,  not  all 
singly,  but  partly  in  groups,  which  is  more  in 
accordance  with  landscape,  if  not  with  forester’s, 
principles,  with  us,  of  course,  the  first  considera- 
tion. 

All  that  I have  laid  down  here  applies  especi- 
ally to  landscape  on  a large  scale  — to  the  park. 
In  the  “pleasure-ground”  and  the  gardens  one 
is  justified,  by  the  smaller  scale  and  the  far  larger 
choice  of  plants  (especially  the  number  of  shrubs 
which  serve  the  purpose),  in  a looser  application 
of  these  rules,  for  only  so  much  thinning  out  is 
necessary  as  concerns  the  health  of  the  plants, 
or  at  times  the  improvement  of  their  shape. 

On  the  maintenance  of  meadows  I have  al- 
ready enlarged,  and  so  no  further  remarks  are 
necessary  except  that  every  year  they  must  be 
rolled  at  least  once  and  if  possible  twice ; that 
moles  must  be  diligently  caught;  that  in  spring 
and  autumn  these  meadows  must  be  watered ; 
and  that  every  three  or  four  years  they  must  be 
manured  if  they  are  to  be  always  fresh  and  thick- 
set. Rivers  and  lakes  require  occasional  repairs 
when  damaged  by  accidents,  but  no  maintenance. 
The  more  the  water  gnaws  at  the  shores,  and 


Maintenance 


109 

the  more  the  edges  are  clothed  with  green  and 
water  plants,  the  better. 

But  the  cleaning  out  of  ponds  which  are  not 
very  deep  is  advisable  every  three  years,  partly 
to  prevent  clogging  of  the  bottom  with  water 
mosses  and  other  plants,  partly  for  economy’s 
sake,  because  the  collected  sediment  or  mud 
makes  the  best  manure  for  meadows. 

I believe  I have  enumerated  herewith  all  the 
chief  points  in  the  theory  of  our  profession,  land- 
scape gardening  (although  in  accordance  with 
my  plan,  only  partially  and  in  a cursory  manner), 
and  shall  pass  on  to  the  second  practical  part 
which  describes  the  application  of  the  foregoing 
to  a particular  spot. 


K 


\ 


I 


PART  SECOND 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PARK  IN 
MOSKAU  AND  ITS  ORIGIN 


Part  Second 

Description  of  the  Park  in  Muskau 
and  its  Origin 


I CONFESS  that  it  is  with  some  trepidation 
that  I begin  the  present  description.  Although 
this  little  work,  in  view  of  its  purely  didactic 
nature,  can  make  no  great  pretension  to  be  en- 
tertaining, yet  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  follow- 
ing very  dry  analysis  of  certain  special  conditions 
must  be  tedious  in  still  greater  degree  than  the 
foregoing  part  to  any  one  who  does  not  have  a 
very  personal  interest  in  such  undertakings. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  a fact  that  I have  taken  up 
the  pen  only  for  this  latter  class,  and  less  apology 
is  due  them  because  I found  myself  obliged,  in 
order  to  make  the  matter  readable,  to  introduce 
much  that  was  personal.  No  doubt  it  can  interest 
the  great  public  but  little,  while  those  who  de- 
sire to  turn  the  book  to  account  as  a guide  and 
handbook  for  their  own  undertakings  may  find 
in  these  personal  raatters  some  profit ; for  many 
will  find  themselves  in  similar  situations,  either 
in  respect  to  the  whole  or  in  this  or  that  detail, 
and  will  perhaps  be  less  intimidated  by  difficul- 
ties and  overcome  them  more  easily  when  they 
see  how  I succeeded  in  mastering  them. 

I must  begin  by  frankly  confessing  that  who- 


1 14  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


ever  should  expect  to  find  in  Muskau  already  a 
completed,  I mean  a finished,  work,  would  be 
quite  disappointed.  Hardly  a third  of  the  plan 
has  so  far  been  carried  out,  although  perhaps 
three-fourths  of  the  work  has  been  done  ; for  sel- 
dom has  a private  person  had  to  contend  in  such 
undertakings  with  greater  obstacles  than  I have. 
Among  others  more  than  two  thousand  acres  of 
the  needful  terrain  were  the  property  of  individ- 
ual citizens  of  the  town  or  the  neighboring  vil- 
lages, and  we  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  acquire 
such  pieces  of  land,  even  at  three  or  four  times 
their  value.  Moreover,  a whole  street  in  the 
small  town,  which  ran  directly  past  my  “Schloss” 
or  castle,  had  to  be  bought  first,  then  removed 
to  suit  my  plan,  and  a lake  had  to  be  dug  on  the 
spot.  A number  of  large,  and  in  part  even  magnifi- 
cent, buildings  belonging  to  me  were  so  unfortu- 
nately situated  that  they  could  not  remain.  Again, 
the  castle  itself  was  surrounded  by  ancient  fortifi- 
cations, deep  moats  and  walls  eight  to  ten  feet 
thick,  which  last  had  been  built  in  the  solid  old 
times  of  our  forefathers,  and  would  have  to  be 
blown  up  with  powder.* 

But  the  work  of  destroying  these  fortifications 
and  filling  up  the  moats  was  unavoidable,  partly 
because  the  stagnant  standing  water  was  detri- 
mental to  health  and  partly  because  the  whole 

* I was  compelled  to  make  a regular  assault  with  battering-rams 
manned  by  twenty  or  thirty  men,  and,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  them,  to 
bury  the  pieces  broken  down  which  still  stuck  together.  One  does  not 
make  such  walls  nowadays,  neither  common  masons  nor  freemasons,  nor 
statesmen  and  nations,  however  anxious  they  are  to  build. 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


1^5 

«reappeared  foreign  to  the  character  and  purpose 
of  the  building  as  well  as  to  the  whole  region. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  earth  required  for  filling 
in,  and  at  the  same  time  be  able  to  have  the  com- 
mand of  several  pieces  of  water,  it  was  necessary 
to  plan  and  excavate  a new  arm  from  the  river 
which  runs  through  the  park,  which  arm,  in  a 
course  of  two  or  three  miles,  forms  two  lakes  of 
considerable  area.  The  last  and  perhaps  the  great- 
est difficulty  was  that  five  to  six  hundred  acres 
of  land  nearest  to  the  castle  consisted  of  barren 
sand  and  clay,  hard  as  iron,  and  this  could  only 
be  made  fertile  at  great  expense. 

I therefore  was  confronted  with  more  difficul- 
ties at  the  very  outset  than  many  a man  in  a more  # 
favorable  situation  finds  throughout  his  entire 
work.  Plate  XI,  for  instance,  gives  the  view  from 
the  drawing-rooms  of  the  castle  as  it  is  now,  and 
on  the  flap  or  folding  sheet,  as  it  was.  On  Plates 
A and  5,  two  ground-plans  of  the  park  in  these 
different  epochs,  one  can  follow  every  detail  of 
my  descriptions.' 

The  greater  part  of  the  preliminary  work  is 
now  complete;  all  that  remains  is  the  construc- 
tion of  roads,  plantations,  and  small  changes  of 
the  surface  by  grading,  and  the  erection  of  sev- 
eral buildings,  all  of  which  will  be  easy  in  com- 
parison with  the  really  colossal  earthwork  done 
at  the  beginning,  although  considerable  time  and 

' I have  purposely  not  drawn  these  plans  in  the  picturesque  manner 
now  so  much  in  favor,  since  picturesque  effects  are  only  adequately 
shown  in  pictures,  while  here  it  was  a question  of  concise  statement  of 
particulars. 


ii6  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


expense  are  still  required.  The  great  losses  that 
I suffered  for  years  through  war  and  other  un- 
toward circumstances  have  obliged  me  since  then 
to  proceed  slowly,  yet  I hope  to  see  the  main 
part  of  the  work  completed  within  ten  years, 
with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  buildings, 
which  I perhaps  must  leave  for  my  descendants 
to  complete.  Until  then,  therefore,  I request  all 
who  visit  the  park  not  to  expect  too  much,  and 
to  suspend,  for  the  greater  part,  their  judgment 
on  its  present  condition,  and  perhaps  to  rely  more 
upon  my  book  than  on  my  achievements;  since 
they  might  take  for  completed  what  is  only  pro- 
visional, and  much  would  seem  a failure  to  the 
expert  which  is  only  permitted  to  remain  because 
more  important  matters  necessarily  precede  its 
definite  removal.* 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  lay  out  a park  with  suc- 
cess in  sections ; that  is,  to  complete  entirely  one 
part  before  beginning  with  the  next.  On  the  con- 
trary, for  the  artistic  interests  of  the  whole,  as 
well  as  for  economy  of  time  and  money,  every- 
thing must,  so  far  as  it  is  feasible,  progress  in 
unison ; almost,  one  may  say,  as  good  strategy 
will  unite  troops  from  various  positions  for  the 
decisive  battle,  so  here  the  goal  will  be  reached 
by  converging  from  all  sides,  not  piecemeal. 

* Thus,  I was  recently  blamed  by  a very  capable  expert  for  planting 
too  many  kinds  of  trees  together  and  for  laying  out  too  few  groves.  He 
was  right,  but  had  not  considered  that  only  the  plants  which  are  happi- 
est in  their  growth  are  destined  to  remain;  the  others  will  be  removed; 
and  that  groves  should  be  constructed  where  the  growth  has  reached  its 
best  period,  and  that  until  then  the  trees  have  been  properly  treated.  ^ 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


117 

When  all  is  finished,  the  greater,  nay,  the 
greatest,  part  of  the  real  merit  of  the  work  will 
remain  unnoticed  by  the  casual  stranger,  and  the 
more  that  this  is  true,  the  better  it  is.  But  this  is 
just  the  intelligent  man’s  endeavor  and  triumph 
to  make  one  believe  that  everything  which  he 
sees  must  be  exactly  so  and  not  otherwise,  and 
that  from  all  time  it  has  not  been  very  different. 
It  would  grieve  me  much  if,  for  instance,  at  the 
sight  of  the  luxuriant  meadows  in  my  park,  any 
one  should  now  trouble  himself  with  the  idea 
that  formerly  here  the  thistle  scarcely  grew, 
or,  when  he  comfortably  rolls  by  on  the  level 
drive  amidst  abundant  foliage  he  should  be  sud- 
denly brought  up  by  the  reflection,  that  formerly 
in  this  place  a bottomless  morass  hardly  afforded 
an  approach  to  grazing  cattle.  The  perfection  of 
landscape  art  is  reached  only  in  the  region  where 
it  again  appears  to  be  untrammeled  Nature,  but 
in  her  noblest  manifestation.  We  find  here  a cu- 
rious affinity  between  the  art  of  the  landscape 
maker  and  that  of  the  actor,  since  these  are  the 
only  two  among  all  the  arts  that  take  Nature 
herself  for  material  and  at  the  same  time  for  the 
representation  of  the  theme,  the  actor  endeavor- 
ing to  portray  in  his  own  person  ideal  man  and 
the  landscape  maker  welding  together  the  mate- 
rial as  he  finds  it  in  the  rough  and  creating  ideal 
landscape.  Unfortunately  the  similarity  can  be 
carried  still  further,  for  the  creations  of  both  art- 
ists are  fleeting,  although  the  landscape  maker 
still  has  some  advantages  over  the  actor. 


ii8  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


Even  so  one  might  compare  a higher  garden 
art  with  music  and,  at  least  as  fitly  as  architecture 
has  been  called  “frozen  music,”  to  call  garden 
art  “growing  music.”  It,  too,  has  its  symphonies, 
adagios,  and  allegros,  which  stir  the  senses  with 
vague  but  powerful  emotions.  Further,  as  Nature 
offers  her  features  to  the  landscape  gardener  for 
use  and  choice,  so  does  she  offer  to  music  her  fun- 
damental tones;  beautiful  like  the  human  voice, 
the  song  of  birds,  the  thunder  of  the  tempest,  the 
roaring  of  the  hurricane,  the  bodeful  wailing  of 
branches  — ugly  sounds  like  howling,  bellowing, 
clattering,  and  squeaking.  Yet  the  instruments 
bring  all  these  out  and  work,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, ear-splitting  sounds  in  the  hands  of 
the  incompetent,  entrancing  when  arranged  by 
the  artist  in  an  orderly  whole.  The  genial  Na- 
ture painter  does  the  same.  He  studies  the  mani- 
fold material  given  him  by  Nature  and  by  his  art 
works  the  scattered  parts  into  a beautiful  whole, 
whose  melody  flatters  the  senses,  but  unfolds  its 
highest  powers  and  yields  the  greatest  enjoyment 
only  when  harmony  has  breathed  true  soul  into 
the  work. 

But  I wander  too  far  from  my  theme.  I shall 
be  asked,  perhaps,  after  this  enumeration  of  all 
my  difficulties,  why  I undertook  such  a work  at 
all?  The  grounds  for  doing  so  are  the  follow- 
ing:— 

When  I conceived  the  plan  of  such  a large 
undertaking,  my  first  reflection  was  this,  that  it 
does  not  become  a man,  who  has  succeeded  to 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


119 


estates  owned  by  his  forefathers  for  centuries,  to 
turn  his  back  on  them  and  to  seek  his  occupa- 
tion or  pleasure  in  life  in  a foreign  country  as  long 
as  want  or  honor  do  not  drive  him  to  emigrate. 

The  property  which  I took  over  was  very  con- 
siderable. A free  lordship,  endowed  with  sub- 
ordinate sovereign  rights  and  including  the  de- 
pendent vassal  property  covering  an  area  of  ten 
to  eleven  miles  square,  contains  all  that  such 
a situation  demands,  and  consequently  simplifies 
the  task  for  making  further  improvements.  In 
short,  it  might  be  regarded  as  an  attractive  place 
to  sojourn  in  itself.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
found  this  property  carelessly  left  to  its  poverty 
and  lack  of  charm  ; some  luxury,  it  is  true,  but 
nothing  which  showed  the  cult  of  the  beautiful 
was  to  be  seen.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
field  for  embellishment  before  me  was  a large  one, 
and  I therefore  held  it  to  be  my  duty  to  be  useful 
here,  all  the  more  because  I am  of  the  opinion 
that  a large  landowner,  who  directs  his  energies 
continually  to  improve  as  well  as  to  embellish  his 
property,  to  civilize  the  inhabitants  given  over  to 
his  care,  to  increase  their  welfare  and  thereby 
make  the  burdens  of  the  land  easier  to  them  — 
that  man,  I say,  has  at  least  earned  as  much  grati- 
tude from  the  State  and  is  as  much  a true  if  vol- 
untary and  unpaid  servant  of  the  State  as  an  official 
who  for  a high  salary  sits  for  a few  hours  at  a 
desk,  or  a diplomat,  for  whom  sometimes  a post 
almost  amounting  to  a sinecure  must  be  paid  for 
with  many  thousands,  — a truth  which  many  of 


120  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


our  rulers  still  seem  to  ignore,  not  exactly  to  the 
profit  of  their  country. 

Even  if  I felt  free  to  take  the  view  that  I did, 
it  was  still  a question  whether,  all  things  con- 
sidered, I could  have  expected,  with  so  few  diffi- 
culties, such  great  advantages  as  I found  here. 

The  drawbacks  were : — 

( 1 ) A generally  sandy  region  covered  for  the 
greater  part  with  pine  forests. 

(2)  Ä large  area  of  poor  soil  in  the  territory 
destined  for  the  park. 

(3)  The  necessity  for  tremendous  preliminary 
work  before  I could  be  in  a position  even  to  be- 
gin the  new  grounds. 

(4)  The  necessary  acquisition  of  more  than 
two  thousand  acres  of  land  that  I did  not  own. 

The  advantages  were  as  follows  : — 

( 1 ) A picturesque  “ lie  ” of  the  ground  every- 
where, and  a great  variety  of  mountain  and  valley 
and  the  prospect  of  the  Silesian  and  Oberlausitz 
Mountains. 

(2)  The  presence  of  a considerable  stream 
which  flows  through  the  land  which  is  to  form 
the  park  and  makes,  for  some  distance  from  the 
banks,  a rich,  though  narrow,  pasture  ground. 

(3)  Many  hundreds  of  the  most  beautiful  old 
trees,  which  were  already  scattered  throughout 
this  territory. 

(4)  The  ease  with  which — as  soon  as  the 
enclosure  of  the  above-mentioned  two  thousand 
acres  of  land,  recently  purchased,  had  been  com- 
pleted— I could  extend  operations  as  far  as  re- 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


I 21 


quired  on  my  own  soil  and  land,  while  in  this 
region  the  consequent  loss  of  farm  acreage  was 
not  a very  great  consideration. 

(5)  The  general  cheapness  of  land  labor  and 
cartage. 

(6)  All  building  material  of  my  own  produc- 
tion, coming  from  brick  kilns,  iron  foundries, 
and  glassworks,  also  wood  of  every  kind  in  pro- 
fusion, also  abundance  of  field  stones,  large  and 
small,  mostly  of  granite,  rich  marl  quarries,  etc. 

(7)  Lastly,  the  various  means  furnished  by 
such  a large  estate  and  by  the  disposition  of  so 
many  clerks  and  dependents  whereby,  on  a large 
scale,  development  is  secured. 

It  will  be  seen  that  drawback  ( i ) is  nullified 
by  the  advantages  mentioned  in  advantage  (i), 
and  it  is  almost  a moot  point  whether  such  an 
oasis,  surrounded  with  woods,  like  an  island  by 
the  sea,  cannot  be,  perhaps,  the  most  favorable 
spot  for  grounds  of  this  kind.* 

Moreover,  forests  of  dark  pine  woods,  melan- 
choly when  seen  near  at  hand,  at  a distance 
make  a background  and  horizon  against  whose 
dark  masses  the  young  green  of  deciduous  foli- 
age near  by  appears  twice  as  gay,  and  colored 
clouds  of  heaven  afford  a more  brilliant  con- 
trast. 

Drawback  (2):  The  soil  which  was  partly 

* Passing  as  one  must  a whole  tract  of  somewhat  barren  country 
before  reaching  Muskau,  when  all  expectations  are  abandoned,  a luxurious 
landscape,  summoned  as  if  by  magic,  strikes  with  twice  the  force,  just 
as  (if  the  comparison  does  not  appear  trivial)  a rich  meal  is  best  en- 
joyed by  a hungry  stomach. 


122  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


bad  might  be  improved  by  a pasture,  and  this 
was  done  later  on;  and  drawback  (3)  was  solved 
in  greater  part  by  advantage  (4).  But  here  came 
a still  more  important  consideration.  The  hard- 
ships caused  by  war  were  nothing  less  than  un- 
bearable for  the  poor  peasants ; the  burdens  and 
state  imposts  had  become  exorbitant.  Without 
an  exceptional  opportunity  to  earn  wages,  I may 
say,  as  acknowledged  by  all  the  people  around, 
a proportion  of  the  inhabitants  here  would  have 
starved  or  been  forced  to  emigration  of  the  most 
helpless  kind. 

Nearly  two  hundred  people  whom  I employed 
for  many  years  almost  daily,  partly  in  my  fac- 
tories, which  at  that  time  were  my  only  source 
of  income,  partly  in  the  grounds,  owe  their  ex- 
istence to  this  alone,  and  so  it  was  a precious 
boon  to  me  that  I could  in  such  an  easy  man- 
ner combine  my  duty  with  my  pleasure.  How 
seldom  is  this  the  lot  of  poor  mankind ! 

Nevertheless,  I encountered  much  opposition; 
and  when  I began  to  demolish  the  road  and  to 
use  the  material  to  fill  the  moat,  several  persons 
were  even  doubtful  whether  I was  still  in  my 
right  mind,  and  many  capitalists  who  had  put 
money  into  my  property  gave  me  notice  at  once 
and  withdrew  it,  only  to  lose  it  later  in  stock 
speculations.  Others  asserted  that  it  was  impos- 
sible, even  for  a man  ten  times  as  rich  as  I,  to 
realize  such  projects.  But  he  who  lets  himself 
be  frightened  by  this  word  has  but  little  experi- 
ence; nineteen  times  out  of  twenty  a firm  will 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


123 


and  patience  make  the  so-called  “impossible” 
quite  easily  possible. 

In  my  own  case  faith  has  literally  removed 
more  than  one  mountain,  and  erected  as  many, 
and  when  people  saw  that  things  were  going, 
they  began  to  put  more  faith  in  my  plans ; and 
I thankfully  acknowledge  that  I afterwards  found 
friendly  support  where  I expected  only  resist- 
ance. Even  my  Wendish  peasants,  constituting 
the  chief  part  of  the  population,  and  standing 
on  a level  of  culture  not  exactly  of  the  highest 
kind,  have  acquired  some  sense  of  the  beautiful, 
so  that  they  have  since  decorated  their  villages 
with  trees.  If  they  at  times  stole  wood  in  my 
park,  yet  they  only  cut  the  stakes  to  which  trees 
were  tied,  without  doing  the  slightest  injury  to 
the  young  trees  themselves,  a piece  of  delicate 
consideration  which  in  the  case  of  Wends  de- 
serves ample  recognition. 

I mention  this  only  to  encourage  others  not 
to  give  in  too  soon  when  “ impossibility  ” is  set 
up  against  the  realization  of  their  dearest  hopes. 
Thus,  I allowed  every  one,  without  consideration 
of  persons,  access  to  my  grounds,  although  many 
landowners  assured  me  that  this  was  likewise 
“ impossible,”  since  the  rough,  often  drunken, 
people  would  cut  down  all  the  young  trees  and 
pluck  all  the  flowers.  It  is  true  that  some  ex- 
cesses occurred  at  first.  They  were  sharply  pun- 
ished when  the  culprits  could  be  identified,  and 
when  not,  the  damage  was  quickly  and  patiently 
repaired,  and  the  gates  remained  as  before,  open 


124  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


to  every  one.  Very  soon  people  were  impressed 
by  this  steady  perseverance ; when  often  hun- 
dreds take  their  pleasure  in  the  spacious  park,  I 
must  admit,  for  the  credit  of  the  public,  that 
any  serious  mischief  is  quite  exceptional. 

My  whole  conduct  in  this  has  even  obtained 
the  general  approval  of  my  former  subjects,’  in 
spite  of  the  hoards  of  pettifoggers  and  overseers 
which  have  lately  overrun  our  province,  of 
whom  there  are  many  who  understand  better 
how  to  egg  on  peasants  and  landowners  against 
one  another,  emptying  the  pockets  of  both,  than 
to  further  harmony  and  culture,  which  is  what 
they  forsooth  proclaim  as  their  aim.  But  since 
then,  the  greatness  of  the  evil  itself,  as  well  as 
the  true  humanity  of  the  higher  magistrates, 
have  procured  remedies,  and  in  the  highest  man- 
ner the  graciousness  of  our  Lord  the  King  is 
never  to  be  sufficiently  praised ; so  I will  hasten 
from  such  repellent,  and,  God  be  thanked,  partly 
past,  prose,  and  return  to  the  innocent  creations 
of  fancy. 

I take  this  opportunity  of  returning  once  more 
to  the  first  chapter  of  this  work,  where  I spoke 
of  the  main  idea  which  guided  me  in  the  lay- 
ing-out of  this  park.  I must,  however,  recount 
in  detail  what  were  the  preliminary  steps  to  be 
taken. 

The  region  which  was  to  serve  me  as  a canvas 

' They  are  now  called  “Hintersassen”  (vassals  or  copy-holders), 
since  subjects  are  now  only  held  by  the  sovereign,  and  in  France  not 
even  by  him.  Assuredly  the  times  are  marching  with  seven-league 
boots ! 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


125 


consisted,  as  I have  already  remarked,  of  boundless 
pine  and  fir  woods  on  all  sides,  in  whose  center,  in 
a hilly  region,  the  little  country  town  of  Muskau 
lies.  The  town  is  especially  distinguished  by 
houses  which  are,  without  exception,  massive, 
by  several  pretty  churches  and  towers,  and  by  a 
certain  general  neatness,  and  lies  picturesquely 
on  the  side  of  a mountain,  up  to  whose  summit 
the  terrace  gardens  of  the  burghers  climb.  Fruit 
gardens  and  little  summer  houses  make  the  aspect 
very  pleasant.  On  the  wide  eastern  mountain 
plateau  over  the  town,  and  in  its  immediate 
neighborhood,  one  sees  hidden,  in  limes  and 
oaks,  the  village  of  Berg  with  one  of  the  oldest 
church  ruins  in  the  Lausitz.  Farther  south,  at 
the  end  of  the  little  town,  the  slope  becomes 
steeper  and  describes  a half-circle,  where  it  is 
covered  by  tall  beeches,  oaks,  and  isolated  ever- 
greens, and  presents  many  romantic  ravines.  Here 
is  an  alum  mine  with  large  buildings,  refining 
and  other  works.  The  ridge  of  the  chain  of  hills 
here  turns  south  again,  and  reaches  its  highest 
point  at  an  old  vineyard  where  there  is  an  exten- 
sive view  over  the  river  Neisse  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Silesia,  Gorlitz,  and  Bautzen.  Here  the 
hills  disappear  by  degrees  into  the  thick  forest. 

If  one  follows  the  same  chain  of  hills  from 
the  other  end  of  the  town,  toward  the  north, 
one  arrives  at  the  steep  wooded  shore  of  the 
Neisse;  a road  runs  alongside  which  from  here 
discloses  a view  of  a bridge  and  a village  crowned 
by  a forest. 


I2Ö  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


The  reader  may  easily  follow  this  description 
on  the  plan  (Plate  XI),  where  the  region  is 
shown  as  it  used  to  be.  He  will  further  observe 
how  directly  in  front  of  the  town  the  Neisse 
meadows  broaden  out  to  the  east,  a completely 
level  valley  through  which  the  river  runs  for  its 
entire  length.  In  this  level  place  lie  the  old  and 
new  castle,  with  their  outbuildings,  the  theater, 
stables,  etc.,  close  by  the  town,  and  a few  hun- 
dred paces  farther  a manor  house  as  it  used  to 
be  and  other  buildings,  now  merely  an  old- 
fashioned  mill,  the  farmhouse,  and  some  out- 
buildings to  which  formerly  a street  of  the  town 
near  the  castle  used  to  lead. 

The  castle  itself  was  surrounded  on  the  other 
side  of  the  moats  and  fortifications  by  French 
and  kitchen  gardens,  later  by  a few  of  the  novel 
pseudo-English  gardens,  misunderstood  in  the 
usual  way  that  I have  described  as  typical  of  the 
Fatherland,  but  also  by  some  remarkably  fine 
and  wide  linden  avenues,  which  a foolish  gar- 
dener had  partly  decapitated,  to  protect  a badly 
placed  orange  house  from  the  probable  fall  of 
such  large  trees.  The  same  absurdity  was  re- 
peated farther  on,  where  a pheasantry  was  placed 
between  meadows  and  deciduous  forests.  Several 
giant  firs  have  been  either  destroyed  entirely,  or 
at  least  deprived  of  their  crowns,  under  the  pre- 
text that  an  old,  half-blind  pheasant  keeper  could 
not,  it  was  presumed,  shoot  the  birds  of  prey 
which  were  wont  to  settle  on  the  tops  of  the 
trees.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  level  space 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


1 27 


was  occupied  by  desolate,  bare  fields,  most  of 
which  belonged  to  the  townsmen.  Yet  the 
shores  of  the  stream  were  enlivened  everywhere 
by  a quantity  of  the  finest  oaks  and  other  tall 
trees. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  stream,  continuing 
toward  the  east,  not  far  from  its  shores,  there 
rises  another  low  ridge  which  forms  the  second 
plateau  of  the  park  ; this  at  some  distance  is  bor- 
dered again  by  a chain  of  hills,  on  the  summit 
of  which  there  stretches  a third  still  larger  pla- 
teau that  slopes,  on  the  farther  side  very  gradu- 
ally, toward  the  forest.  On  the  edge  of  these 
vvoods  lies  the  village  of  Braunsdorf  with  a farm- 
house, to  which  a badly  kept  avenue  of  lindens 
led,  the  line  of  which  crossing  the  country,  did 
not  improve  the  aspect.  I had  most  of  them  re- 
moved later  on  to  give  more  character  to  some 
of  the  bare  spots  on  the  heights.' 

From  the  highest  point  of  the  last-named  chain 
of  hills,  a very  fine  and  wide  view  may  be  en- 
joyed. The  foreground  is  formed  by  the  Neisse 
Valley,  with  the  township,  the  rising  terrace 
gardens  of  which  are  picturesquely  mingled  with 
the  thatched  huts  of  the  village  of  Berg,  which 
here  seem  to  hang  almost  immediately  over  the 
town.  Southward  in  the  ravines  the  alum  works 

' As  a remarkable  example  of  the  indifference  of  our  forefathers  to 
enjoyment  and  decorum,  I may  instance  that  on  these  hills  exactly  op- 
posite the  castle  the  gallows  stood  for  fifty  years,  the  proximity  of  which, 
every  time  the  wind  blew  from  the  east,  was  evident  in  the  most  dis- 
gusting manner.  It  cost  me  several  thousands  to  get  rid  of  this  disagree- 
able neighbor. 


128  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


and  potters’  ovens  are  smoking  day  and  night, 
and  their  pillars  of  fire  with  the  approach  of 
dusk  light  up  the  whole  region  every  evening. 
Beyond  is  an  expanse  of  fields  following  the 
course  of  the  river,  dotted  with  old  oaks  and 
other  deciduous  trees,  and  this  part  of  the  pic- 
ture is  finally  framed  in  by  forests ; only  the  blue 
tops  of  the  Landskrone,  Tafelfichte,  and  Schnee 
Koppe  can  be  discerned  above  the  sea  of  dark- 
green  foliage.  On  the  right,  finally,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Neisse,  spread  wide  meadows,  shaded 
by  tall  trees,  over  which  rises  the  fir-covered 
mountain  of  the  glassworks  of  Wolfshayn,  the  es- 
tate of  the  famous  jurist  and  philosopher  Gravell. 
Turning  around,  one  sees  only  the  wavy  lines  of 
the  dense  black  forest,  dwindling  to  the  farthest 
horizon,  unbroken  save  here  and  there  by  the 
gleaming  tips  of  a few  distant  church  spires. 

On  this  spot  now  stands  a ruined  pavilion,  and 
in  ancient  times  stood,  according  to  the  legend, 
a castle  or  watch-tower,  of  which  there  are  still 
some  remains  of  ruined  walls  and  cellars,  such  as 
may  be  found  in  the  neighboring  fir  woods  of 
Keula.  A rather  remarkable  occurrence  during 
the  war  threw  a new  light  on  this  town,  which, 
however,  like  an  ignis  fatuus^  disappeared  as 
quickly  as  it  came.  One  day  a Russian  staff  offi- 
cer appeared  at  the  house  of  the  Burgermaster 
of  the  town,  and  springing  from  his  foaming 
Cossack  steed,  asked  for  some  man  who  knew 
the  neighborhood  well,  to  conduct  him  in  a 
search  which  was  of  great  importance  to  him 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


1 29 


and  for  which  he  had  but  little  time  to  spare. 
Under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  that  time, 
his  request  could  hardly  be  refused,  but,  being 
rather  uneasy  about  the  unknown  intentions  of 
the  stranger,  a reliable  person  was  sought  out  and 
directed  to  make  an  exact  report  of  whatever 
happened.  This  individual  afterwards  made  the 
following  report:  The  strange  officer  began  by 
interrogating  his  guide  at  great  length  concern- 
ing all  the  conditions  of  this  place,  and  at  length 
disclosed,  but  with  strict  injunctions  of  the  great- 
est secrecy,  that  he  was  here  with  the  intention 
of  discovering  a considerable  treasure,  of  whose 
existence  and  probable  situation  he  possessed  the 
fullest  particulars.  He  had  been  born  in  Moscow 
and  his  Slav  forefathers  had  in  former  times  pos- 
sessed the  town  of  Muskau,  whose  name  for- 
merly was  pronounced  in  the  same  manner  and 
had  the  same  Slav  origin  as  Moscow.'  Their  cas- 
tle used  to  stand  in  the  forest,  and  a watch-tower 
stood  on  the  high  hill  already  mentioned. 

Upon  this  he  showed  the  man  a mouldy  but 
yet  decipherable  plan  of  the  main  features  of  the 
region,  and  by  pacing  off  in  accordance  with  the 
indications  thereon,  he  really  discovered  the  hith- 
erto quite  unknown  remains  of  a cellar,  and,  about 
forty  paces  farther  on,  those  of  a filled-up  well, 
where  they  began  at  once  to  dig,  but  could  dis- 
cover nothing  but  a few  small  coins  which  were 

* It  is  rather  striking  that  the  attribution  of  a Slav  origin  is  fairly  cor- 
roborated by  an  old  manuscript  chronicle  of  the  town,  in  which  it  is 
written  as  Moska.  On  the  land  charts  it  is  also  named  in  the  same  way. 


130  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


covered  with  green  mould,  and  whose  inscrip- 
tion had  been  quite  obliterated.  As  after  contin- 
uous toil  nothing  further  came  to  light,  the  strange 
treasure-seeker  sent  his  assistant  back,  with  the 
announcement  that  on  the  morrow  he  would 
bring  more  men  with  him.  But  the  following 
day  he  did  not  turn  up,  and  when  on  the  third 
day  the  guide  once  more  found  himself  alone  on 
the  spot,  he  discovered  that  the  earth  had  been 
rummaged  deeper  still  so  that  there  was  no  doubt 
that  a fresh  search  had  been  made.  The  results 
of  it,  as  well  as  the  mysterious  officer,  remained 
unknown,  and  all  the  digging  which  some  years 
later  I undertook  from  curiosity,  when  I learned 
the  events  on  my  return  from  the  campaign,  also 
remained  fruitless. 

These  data  are  not  entirely  unconnected  with 
the  following  development  of  my  plans. 

After  I had  acquainted  myself  with  the  local- 
ity I have  depicted,  and  the  possibility  of  carry- 
ing out  my  plans,  I decided  to  lay  out  as  a park, 
with  the  exception  of  the  gardens  already  exist- 
ing, the  whole  river  domain  with  its  bordering 
plateaus  and  hill  chains,  pheasantry,  field,  manor, 
mill,  alum  works,  etc.,  from  the  last  ravines  of 
the  hill  descending  to  the  south  to  the  villages 
of  Kobeln  and  Braunsdorf  on  the  north  (alto- 
gether nearly  four  thousand  acres  of  land),  and 
by  taking  in  the  slope  behind  the  town,  and  a 
portion  of  the  village  of  Berg  situated  thereon, 
to  surround  the  town  itself  in  such  a way  that  it 
would  become  merely  a part  of  the  park. 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


131 


As  it  is  a town  which  was  formerly  subject  to 
me  and  is  still  dependent  upon  me,  its  inclusion 
in  the  project  had  an  historical  significance ; for 
the  main  idea  which  formed  the  foundation  of 
the  whole  conception  was  nothing  less  than  to 
present  a sensible  picture  of  the  life  of  our  fam- 
ily, or  of  the  aristocracy  of  our  country,  in  such 
a way  that  the  idea  should,  as  it  were,  become 
of  itself  apparent  to  the  beholder.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  was  only  necessary  to  utilize  what  was 
already  there,  to  elevate  and  enrich  in  the  same 
spirit,  but  not  to  violate  its  locality  and  history. 
Many  ultra-liberals  will  perhaps  smile  at  such  a 
thought,  but  every  form  of  human  development 
is  worthy  of  honor,  and  just  because  that  of  which 
I speak  is  perhaps  nearing  its  end,  it  assumes  a 
universal,  poetic,  and  romantic  interest,  which 
so  far  cannot  be  extracted  from  factories,  ma- 
chines, or  even  constitutions,  suum  cuique.  Yours 
is  now  money  and  power  — leave  to  the  poor, 
worn-out  nobility  its  poetry,  the  sole  thing  which 
is  left  to  it.  Honor  the  weak  old  age,  ye  Spar- 
tans ! 

I selected,  therefore,  as  the  central  point,  the 
mountain  dominating  the  region,  as  the  ruins  of 
walls  and  the  old  legends  sufficiently  indicated 
that  it  had  once  been  the  site  of  a feudal  castle, 
and  it  was  decided  to  erect  a building  in  the 
simple  style  which  was  predominant  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  for  buildings  of  this  kind,  much  like 
some  of  the  oldest  castles  on  the  Rhine  in  a 
fairly  good  state  of  preservation.  It  was  essential 


132  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


that  art  should  give  this  castle  the  appearance  of 
real  antiquity,  but  it  was  to  be  no  useless  ruin, 
such  as  when  newly  constructed  too  much  re- 
sembles a mere  plaything  and  must  miss  a decep- 
tive effect  because  too  much  is  left  to  the  imagi- 
nation. It  should  be  merely  an  old  castle,  which, 
in  course  of  time,  served  other  purposes;  in  short, 
a partially  reconstructed,  often  repaired,  and  con- 
tinually used  complete  structure,  of  which  there 
are  many  such  examples  in  our  province.  By 
virtue  of  its  location,  it  could  therefore  be  very 
appropriately  used  as  the  main  building  for  farm 
purposes  and  stables,  since  from  the  valley  it  ap- 
pears to  stand  on  steep  heights  on  the  border  of 
the  forest,  but  on  the  other  side  its  proximity  to 
the  widest  plateau  makes  it  accessible  from  the 
more  level  ground.  The  so-called  inner  “Burg," 
with  the  solitary  high  watch-tower,  from  which 
in  these  days,  of  course,  no  misshaped  dwarf  is 
on  the  lookout  for  strange  foes,  was  to  serve  as 
a dwelling  for  the  master  and  the  tower  as  a fire- 
watch,  which,  with  the  frequent  forest  fires  of  our 
region,  is  only  too  necessary.  Besides,  if  it  were 
thought  more  in  keeping  and  more  romantic,  a 
modern  Seni'  might  employ  himself  with  as- 
trology in  undisturbed  solitude,  or  an  alchemist, 
for  instance  (as  they  are  by  no  means  extinct), 
nay,  even  the  baying  of  hounds,  which  was  so 
obligatory  in  all  knightly  tales,  would  not  be 
lacking,  as  the  trainer  for  the  hounds  was  lodged 
there. 

* The  name  of  the  astrologer  in  Schiller’s  Wallenstein. 


Photographs  by  Thomas  W.  Sears 
Two  Views  of  the  Castle  and  Moat  at  Muskau 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


133 


But,  joking  apart,  there  is  no  lack  of  real  tra- 
dition among  the  people  to  give  fiction  an  his- 
torical basis.  Besides  the  incidents  I have  related, 
the  old  chronicle  of  the  town  records  the  follow- 
ing, which  I translate  into  modern  German  with 
only  a few  remarks  of  my  own : — 

Muskau  or  Mosca,  otherwise  called  Muzakow,  that 
is  “ Town  of  men,”  was  in  the  time  of  the  Sorbs  a re- 
nowned holy  place,  where  four  of  their  temples  stood 
in  oak  groves.  Here  the  holy  image  of  old  times,  the 
god  of  gods  Swantewit,  “the  holy  spirit,  the  holy  fire,” 
was  worshiped.  The  oracles  of  the  horse  dedicated  to 
him  were  promulgated  by  the  priests,  and  the  places 
of  sacrifice  — one  quite  close  to  the  baths  — are  easily 
distinguishable.  A large  cemetery  on  the  other  side  of 
the  town,  full  of  urns  which  are  still  sometimes  ex- 
humed, indicates  a place  either  largely  populated,  or  at 
least  inhabited  from  time  immemorial.  At  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Sorbs  by  Louis  the  Pious  and  to  the  time 
of  Hildewardt  III,  Bishop  of  Meissen,  in  1060,  the 
worshipers  of  the  old  gods  took  refuge  in  these  formerly 
almost  impenetrable  forests,  and  their  religious  rites 
were  conducted  for  several  centuries  there  with  stealth 
and  seclusion.  The  statue  of  the  god  Zeutiber  was  said 
to  be  still  preserved  here  even  at  a much  later  date, 
although  in  a damaged  condition.' 

The  first  “Graf”  at  Muskau  was  Theorious,  whose 
daughter  Juliane  was  given  as  wife  to  Wittekind’s  son 
of  the  same  name.  The  Graf  was  said  to  be  in  great 
demand,  and  the  renown  of  his  name  has  descended  to 
our  times. 

* Compare  the  funeral  monuments  in  the  Troad  and  on  the  Euro- 
pean peninsula  of  the  whole  Hellespont  as  far  as  Ganochoro  and  Hera- 
clea,  where  the  last  examples  are  to  be  found.  So  in  the  Neisse  Valley 
here,  and  especially  near  Buchwalde  and  Werdeck,  there  are  high  green 
hills  covered  with  primeval  oaks,  called  “ Kraalsroo,”  or  Kings’  Graves, 
by  the  Sorbs  and  Wends  to  this  day. 


134  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


The  Hungarians,  after  their  great  battle,  were  for 
the  first  time  entirely  dispersed  on  their  retreat  in  this 
valley,  which  was  then  all  forest,  by  the  brave  hero, 
Graf  Siegfried  von  Ringelhain,  with  the  help  of  Graf 
Bruno  von  Askanien/ 

Markgraf  Johann,  son  of  Siegfried,  built  with  his 
portion  of  the  booty  the  strong  and  well-protected 
castle  at  Muskau  as  a land  or  frontier  fortress,  which 
even  the  Emperors  Henry  III  and  IV,  in  1109,  be- 
sieged in  vain;  afterwards  the  Markgraves  had  ceded 
it  to  Herzog  Vladislaus  of  Poland,  from  whom  it  was 
acquired  by  Herzog  Boleslaus  of  Bohemia.  It  was  here 
that  Vladislaus  lived  three  years  of  love  and  bliss  with 
the  Herzog  of  Bohemia’s  daughter  Michildam,  after 
having  eloped  with  the  beautiful  maid  from  the  Hrad- 
schin,  for  whom  her  father  had  other  intentions  and 
indeed  had  refused  to  give  her  to  him  as  his  bride. 
There  Boleslaus  laid  siege,  beleaguered  and  stormed 
the  castle  of  Muskau,  and  took  it.  But  the  father’s 
anger  had  to  yield  to  pity  and  mercy  when  he  saw  at 
his  feet  his  daughter  a prisoner  with  her  lovely  little 
boy.  He  forthwith  forgave  her,  and  Vladislaus,  this 
young  prince,  was  afterward  Herzog  in  Bohemia,  and 
showed,  as  Abraham  Horsmann  tells  in  his  chronicle, 
much  affection  for  his  birthplace  of  Muskau.  The 
town,  which  since  that  time  had  much  grown,  was  laid 
waste  by  the  Tartars  in  the  fearful  battle  of  1241,  so 
important  in  its  results.  At  that  time  also  the  old  castle 
was  destroyed,  of  whose  mighty  towers  no  trace  is  left, 
and  of  their  site  very  little.  The  town  was  rebuilt  on 
its  old  site,  but  the  new  castle  was  now  placed  close  up 
to  it.  Knightly  jousts  and  so-called  “Torniamina”  of 
nobles  and  other  gatherings  of  important  people  often- 

‘ The  great  Burgundy  Chronicle,  Dr.  Hegemuller’s  book  of  heraldry, 
printed  in  Munich,  and  Dr.  Sekden’s  coat  of  arms,  give  certain  things 
of  this  matter,  in  folio  133.  An  official  letter  for  Muskau  from  the  Em- 
peror Henry  I. 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


135 


times  took  place  here.  Before  the  Reformation  Muskau 
had  a provost.  This  region  from  the  time  of  the  battle 
with  the  Tartars  until  the  last  war  of  liberty  continu- 
ally experienced  the  horrors  brought  on  by  devasta- 
tion. 

First  the  Hussites  pillaged  it  terribly.  In  the  Thirty 
Years’  War  Tiefenbach  burned  all  the  villages  round 
Muskau.  The  Croats  plundered  the  town  and  castle. 
Wallenstein  lay  in  1633  several  days  in  this  region  with 
the  Imperial  army.  Soon  after  the  forest  was  set  on 
fire;  it  burned  for  six  weeks,  and  by  neglect  of  the 
Swedes  the  new  castle  was  also  burned  down ; it  was 
afterwards  rebuilt,  improved,  and  enlarged.  The  town 
also  was  several  times  on  fire,  and,  especially  in  the 
year  1766,  was  totally  laid  in  ashes,  but,  thanks  to  this 
disaster,  has  a finer  and  more  tasteful  exterior  than  any 
other  country  town  of  the  same  size. 

So  much  for  the  documentary  history  of  the 
town,  of  which, one  may  say,  without  improba- 
bility, that  on  this  same  spot  Vladislaus’s  beauti- 
ful daughter  lived  sweetly  fearful  days  in  love 
and  terror.  But  as  the  poets  often  begin  their 
labor  at  the  end  of  their  works  and  finish  the 
beginning  at  the  last,  I have  postponed  the  build- 
ing of  this  town  until  the  last. 

In  continuation  of  the  chain  of  hills  crowned 
with  forest  and  at  a short  distance  from  the  town, 
the  cemetery  chapel  of  the  family  will  be  found 
situated,  approached  by  a bridge  with  a sharp 
curve.  This  chapel  or  church,  the  building  of 
which  would  have  been  the  first  duty  of  our  pious 
forefathers,  is  therefore  probably  copied  from  a 
like  ancient  source  and,  with  due  regard  to  its 
purpose,  built  in  Byzantine,  or,  better  still,  in 


136  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


Roman,  style.  Farther  on  may  be  seen,  at  about 
the  same  distance  on  the  same  declivity,  a roughly 
walled  prominence  on  which  an  old  lime  tree  has 
grown,  where,  in  a niche  of  this  wall,  a Holy 
Virgin  is  placed  after  the  old  Catholic  custom,' 
and  a resting-place  offered,  and  the  prospect  of 
the  other  world  is  allegorically  represented  by 
one  of  the  finest  views  on  earth  looking  toward 
the  evanescent  hills  melting  in  pale  blue  distance. 

On  the  plateau  behind  these  various  town  build- 
ings and  as  though  belonging  to  them,  the  race- 
course is  situated,  to  which  I shall  return  later. 

This  whole  long  chain  of  hills,  as  I have 
already  said,  presents  analogous  conditions  and 
constitutes  the  only  view  toward  the  west  from 
the  old  as  well  as  the  new  and  now  inhabited 
castle. 

After  the  little  town  had  been  built  on  the 
river,  under  the  protection  of  the  feudal  owners, 
the  times,  as  they  became  more  peaceable  and 
easy,  permitted  the  stern  lords  on  the  heights  to 
leave  the  comfortless  castle  and  settle  in  more 
companionable  surroundings ; at  least,  the  so- 
called  old  castle  was  as  a fact  built  in  the  fourteenth 
century  in  the  valley,  and  now  serves  as  a court- 
house for  the  magistrates.  Its  characteristics  have 
been  carefully  preserved,  only  its  gables  and  old 
armor  have  been  restored  and  the  statue  of  the 
ancestor  of  our  family,  famous  in  the  “Nibel- 

‘ This  figiire  of  the  Virgin  is  a very  remarkable  statue,  found  not 
long  ago,  carved  in  petrified  wood.  It  is  attributed  to  the  thirteenth  or 
fourteenth  century. 


The  Park  in  Muskau  137 


ungenlied,”  Rudigen  von  Bechlarn,  has  been 
addedd 

As  the  open  space  before  this  building  serves 
as  2.  point  de  vue  for  a street  of  the  town  and  the 
chief  way  to  the  park  is  at  this  entrance,  the 
equestrian  statue  of  the  old  Magyar  will  be  found 
here,  the  best  site  for  it. 

At  a later  epoch  my  ancestors  built,  only  a hun- 
dred paces  from  the  first  castle,  another  one  with 
a much  more  agreeable  exterior,  connected  with 
the  first  by  fortifications  and  moats  suitable  to 
their  enlarged  property  and  more  exalted  rank 
(they  had  just  been  elevated  to  the  rank  of 
“Reichsgrafen”).  An  Italian  architect  built  it 
as  well  as  a so-called  “garden  palace”  at  the 
same  distance  on  the  other  side,  which  was  used 
later  on  as  a theater,  and  made  half  as  large  again 
but  deformed  in  the  most  tasteless  manner  in  the 
process. 

One  can  see  from  the  plan  how  I converted 

' It  is  true,  I may  say  in  passing,  that  in  some  genealogical  works 
doubt  has  been  thrown  on  this  genealogy  of  our  family,  but  although  it 
has  not  been  proved  historically  correct,  it  has  been  made  highly  prob- 
able by  some  attested  copies  from  ancient  original  documents,  which 
latter  were  unfortunately  lost  in  a great  fire  at  Schedlau  in  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  well  as  by  the  identity  of  the  name  (as  our 
family  name  was  written  “Pechlarn  ” as  late  as  the  fifteenth  century), 
and  lastly,  by  the  similarity  of  the  arms,  as  is  proved  by  the  monument 
of  Pellegrin,  Bishop  of  Passau,  a descendant  of  Budigerin  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, where  the  separate  limbs  of  an  eagle  in  four  fields  (quarterings) 
are  to  be  seen  as  in  our  arms  of  the  present  day.  The  formerly  direct 
branch  of  my  family,  the  Grafen  Pückler  Limpurg  auf  Farrenbach,  are 
said  to  possess  interesting  information  on  the  subject,  which  I hereby 
invite  them  to  disclose;  for  who  can  blame  us  for  setting  at  a high  value 
the  imperishable  heroic  stories  of  Germany,  even  if  we  only  have  prob- 
ability on  our  side  ? 


138  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  old  moats  into  a lake  and  stream  by  a canal 
leading  from  the  river  Neisse,  the  latter  sur- 
rounding three  sides  of  the  new  castle  and  divid- 
ing it  from  the  older  quarter  and  from  the  theater. 
According  to  my  plans,  to  which  my  talented 
friend  Schinkel  has  certainly  given  the  most  de- 
lightful form,  the  old  castle  in  future  will  be  con- 
nected with  the  new  by  a high  arched  bridge,  the 
theater  on  the  other  side  by  a gallery,  crossing 
the  water  in  a higher  arch,  the  whole  improve- 
ment making  a worthier  residence  in  a further 
extension  of  more  than  five  hundred  paces. 
When  we  turn  back  for  a moment  to  contem- 
plate past  centuries,  we  retrace  the  growing 
development  of  industry  and  culture,  which  no 
longer  permitted  the  nobleman  to  be  now  a 
pleasure-seeker  and  then,  when  the  chance  came, 
a robber,  but  summoned  him  as  well  to  engage 
himself  in  industrial  life.  In  consequence  there 
arose  on  the  river  buildings  devoted  to  economic 
purposes,  — mills,  breweries,  distilleries,  etc.,  — 
which  still  show  the  old-fashioned,  irregular  style 
with  gables,  projecting  stories,  and  small  win- 
dows. Later  the  ground  itself  was  explored,  and 
the  alum  works  founded,  which  showed  in  the 
architecture  a less  old-fashioned,  more  industrial 
character.  A vineyard  closes  the  category  of  these 
older  ventures,  whose  product,  however,  is  not  to 
be  recommended.  It  seems  either  that  our  an- 
cestors were  satisfied  with  their  poor  wine,  or  that 
the  climate  was  warmer  than  at  the  present  time, 
for  who  would  think  at  this  date  that  the  neigh- 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


139 


borhood  of  Berlin,  which  in  regard  to  beverages 
can  only  boast  of  Weiss  beer,  formerly  was  a wine 
country  as  is  proved  by  the  Berlin  calendar? 

In  recent  times,  finally,  when  all  the  different 
interests  of  the  people  have  been  more  and  more 
amalgamated  by  the  spread  of  education,  — this 
period  marks  the  beginning  of  my  modest  work, 
— a feeling  for  art  and  beauty  at  last  began  to 
awaken  in  these  regions,  formerly  overlooked 
in  the  general  march  of  culture.  The  leading 
thought  was  to  reflect  the  past  in  one  congruous 
picture,  whereby  everything  which  was  still  in 
existence  should  be  again  emphasized,  improved 
as  far  as  its  purposes  allowed,  and  embellished 
and  combined  anew  in  a well-arranged  whole.  A 
new  source  of  income  was  found  in  the  long 
known,  but  never  exploited,  mineral  waters  which 
rise  near  the  mines,  as  well  as  the  strong  sulphur 
springs  in  most  productive  meadows  in  neighbor- 
ing valleys,  which  had  been  doubtless  running 
for  centuries  past  and  wasted  in  the  dust  of  de- 
cayed forests.  By  means  of  a hydropathic  estab- 
lishment, well  furnished  with  all  requisites,  it  was 
sought  to  benefit  also  the  suffering  of  humanity. 

Other  undertakings  were  started,  some  with- 
in the  precincts  of  the  castle,  some  elsewhere ; 
namely,  a wax  bleachery,  a fisherman’s  cottage, 
and  some  colonies  of  cottages  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  village  of  Kobeln,  near  the  alum  works,  and  on 
the  Braunsdorf  plain,  each  grouped  as  a whole  and 
arranged  throughout  as  free  dwellings  for  garden 
hands,  miners,  and  the  needy ; further,  an  observ- 


140  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


atory  and  extensive  cottage  ornee^  called  “ the  Eng- 
lish House,”  which  serves  as  a Sunday  recreation 
ground  for  the  town  and  suburbs.  As  a coping- 
stone  to  the  whole,  as  a monument  of  a work 
which  contended  with  such  innumerable  difficul- 
ties, I have  projected  the  erection  of  a temple  on 
an  isolated  hill  in  the  center  of  a park  and  on  the 
shore  of  a stream,  dedicated  to  “ Perseverance,” 
for  further  mention  of  which  I refer  the  reader 
to  the  “First  Carriage  Drive.” 

This,  then,  was  in  the  main  the  task  which  I 
had  set  myself.  How  I carried  it  out,  in  so  far  as 
it  is  carried  out  and  in  so  far  as  this  book  has  ex- 
plained the  remainder,  I must  leave  to  the  judg- 
ment of  experts;  at  least  the  attempt  has  been 
harmless,  well  intentioned,  and  not  without  some 
artistic  endeavor. 

The  park  of  Muskau  may  now  be  described 
by  districts,  as  follows,  which  at  the  same  time 
enumerate  the  various  epochs  with  some  ac- 
curacy. 

I.  The  “ Burg”  domain  on  the  farther  shore  of 

the  Neisse  to  which  belong:  — 

A.  The  “Burg”  itself  with  its  surroundings. 

B.  The  cemetery  chapel. 

C.  The  race-course. 

D.  The  stud. 

E.  The  manor  house  with  the  sheep  farm. 

II.  The  town  and  its  precincts. 

III.  The  castle  domain  : — 

A.  The  old  castle,  mill,  farmhouses,  etc. 

B.  The  new  castle  with  its  “pleasure-ground.” 

C.  The  orangeries  and  gardens. 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


141 


D.  The  inn. 

E.  'The  pheasantry. 

F.  The  fisherman’s  hut  with  its  surroundings. 

G.  The  temple. 

IV.  The  vineyard. 

V.  The  mine  with  its  colonies. 

VI.  The  baths. 

VII.  The  observatory. 

VIII.  The  village,  to  which  belong;  — 

A.  The  English  house. 

B.  The  Gobelin  colony. 

In  order  to  proceed  to  the  more  detailed  de- 
scription of  these  districts,  the  most  practical 
way  will  be  to  follow  the  same  course  as  would 
be  taken  by  a stranger  in  his  visits,  and  therefore 
I beg  the  reader  to  consult  the  plan  in  Plate  B. 

I must  first  remark,  however,  that  besides  the 
classification  which  I have  just  completed  and 
which  I would  call  the  “ aesthetic  ” part,  another 
more  general  classification  would  be  advisable, 
for  the  sake  of  locality,  convenience,  and  review 
of  the  whole.  Accordingly  the  whole  would  fall 
under  three  heads  only,  in  which  each  would  be 
dealt  with  as  it  is  limited  by  situation  ; namely, 
the  castle  park,  the  park  of  the  baths,  and  the 
outer  park.  Each  of  these  presents  space  and 
room  enough  for  a walk.  The  first  is  bounded 
partly  by  a high  wood  fence,  which  is  nowhere 
visible,  with  broad  plantations,  partly  by  the 
Neisse ; the  second  is  also  bounded  partly  by  a 
similar  fence  toward  the  town,  and  partly  by  deep 
ditches  and  broad  blackthorn  thickets.  The  third 
is  bounded  throughout  by  dikes  with  acacia 


142  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


thorn  and  gleditschia  thickets,  twelve  feet  broad, 
totally  impenetrable  to  man  or  beast,  and  con- 
tented with  the  poorest  soil.  The  hares,  which 
are  very  plentiful  in  our  part  of  the  world,  dam- 
age them  considerably  during  hard  winters,  but 
as  they  must  be  partly  cut  down  every  three  years 
to  renew  their  density,  the  damage  is  seldom  of 
great  proportions. 

I will  assume  that  one  has  started  from  the 
castle  and  is  taking  a walk  to  the  flower  gardens 
and  a part  of  the  pleasure-ground,”  to  which 
leads  no  drive.  Following  the  arrow  that  starts 
from  the  wide  steps  of  the  court  of  the  castle 
(a,  on  the  ground-plan  C and  B)'  is  an  arrange- 
ment for  orangery  and  flowers  with  light  arcades, 
and  above  it,  rising  from  large  vases,  drooping 
passion  flowers.  Between  the  arches  are  hanging 
bars,  on  which  many-colored  parrots  swing,  with- 
out being  able  to  incommode  one  by  their  too 
great  proximity.  The  orangery  makes  a shady 
and  fragrant  walk  on  the  terrace,  extends  around 
the  court,  and  is  surrounded  with  flower  stands 
in  which  niches  are  placed,  serving  as  an  occa- 
sional salon  and  affording  views  of  the  park. 
The  terraces  are  connected  with  the  drawing- 
rooms by  glass  doors. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  these  rooms,  toward 
the  south,  a conservatory  is  thrown  out,  running 
along  the  wing  of  the  castle,  the  windows  of 

* I have  had  copied,  for  the  better  comprehension  of  the  reader,  a 
part  of  the  gardens  on  a larger  scale,  as  far  as  the  footpaths  go,  and 
marked  them  with  the  same  letters.  (See  Plate  C.) 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


143 

which  are  taken  out  in  summer,  which  at  all 
times  of  the  year  makes  a flower  walk.  The 
rooms  have  a lookout  on  this  promenade 
through  gilded  lattices,  immediately  under  the 
windows,  and  two  steps  at  the  sides  give  access 
to  it. 

The  first  flower  garden  starts  in  front  of  this 
conservatory  and  is  bounded  by  the  lake  Lucie, 
with  the  hills  beyond. 

It  surrounds  the  whole  square  of  the  castle 
and  has  a communication  under  the  castle  terrace 
by  a tunnel,  walled  with  golden-colored  sulphur 
pyrites  and  blue  slags. 

In  the  laying-out  of  these  gardens  I have  al- 
lowed my  fancy  free  play  and  have  combined 
regularity  with  irregularity  fearlessly,  but  I hope, 
nevertheless,  not  to  have  disturbed  the  harmony 
of  the  whole.  On  the  ground-plan,  no  doubt, 
there  may  be  a singular  appearance  in  the  fan- 
shape  ; the  “ H ” set  in  a star  ; the  square  shaped 
like  the  breastplate  of  the  Jewish  high  priest; 
the  cornucopia;  the  colossal  flower  made  up  of 
various  plants ; an  “ S ” of  roses  and  forget-me- 
nots  ; the  peacocks’  feathers,  etc.  As  a matter  of 
fact,  the  effect  is  rather  rich  and  original,  and 
not  more  heterogeneous  than  the  bazaar  effect 
is  usually  in  the  room  of  an  elegant  lady.  The 
sketch  in  Plate  XII  gives  a part  of  the  appear- 
ance presented  by  these  features  seen  from  the 
balcony  of  the  tower.  Two  busts  can  be  seen 
there  in  front  of  a flower  stand.  They  are  those 
of  two  women,  who  of  all  those  I have  met 


144  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


on  my  life’s  journey  seemed  to  me  the  most 
lovely.* 

The  slightly  higher  ground  under  three  old 
limes  (c),  surrounded  by  the  greatest  wealth  of 
flowers,  is  also  the  central  point  of  the  flower 
gardens,  whence  a view  opens  on  the  lake,  the 
adjoining  “pleasure-ground,” and  the  terrace  gar- 
dens of  the  town  opposite,  with  the  village  of 
Berg  above.  The  water  laps  the  foot  of  the  steep 
stone  wall,  on  which  there  is  room  for  a fairly 
large  company.  In  the  evening  this  Platz  is 
lighted  by  bright-colored  lanterns. 

Farther  on  is  the  rosary,  a rosette  made  up  of 
monthly  roses  and  box  and  surrounded  by  pome- 
granate trees.  The  rosary  is  joined  to  the  con- 
servatory just  mentioned,  in  which  a roomy  niche 
surrounded  by  flower  stands  can  be  used  as  an- 
other place  for  company.  Here  the  shrubbery 
which  surrounds  it  on  all  sides  allows  a view  of 
the  water  only,  under  the  shelter  of  large-leaved 
planes.  (See  Plate  XIII.)  On  one  side  of  this 
feature  lies  the  tulip  room  in  the  shade  of  which 
are  planted  carnations.  A stone  step  leads  from 
here  down  to  the  water  to  some  light  gondolas, 
in  which  the  votaries  of  rowing,  the  favorite 
pastime  in  these  days,  may  disport  themselves, 
without  fear  of  storm  and  shipwreck. 

Continuing  on  our  path  we  come  to  an  open 
platform  at  the  tower.  A bower  of  jessamine  and 

' As  recognition  of  beauty  is  not  offensive,  and  rank  and  wealth  are 
as  nothing  in  its  realm,  I will  name  them  for  the  enlightenment  of  the 
curious:  the  one  is  the  Gräfin  Alopaus;  the  other  the  Gräfin  Rossi. 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


H5 


roses  leans  against  the  tower  under  the  upper  bal- 
cony. From  this  one  has  a view  of  the  lake  in  a 
new  direction  and  in  its  greatest  length,  where 
two  bridges  and  a waterfall  serve  as  an  excellent 
point  de  vue.  From  this  point  the  walk  continues 
through  the  shrubbery  for  a time,  after  which 
one  comes  to  an  ornamental  plot  with  the  letter 
“ S,”  an  aviary,  farther  a flower  parterre,  imitat- 
ing a bundle  of  colossal  peacocks’  feathers,  then 
a flower  stand  with  hothouse  plants,  till  the  tun- 
nel mentioned  above  [d')  is  reached.  A fountain 
here  makes  a spot  which  is  alw'ays  cool  and  re- 
freshing in  hot  summer  days,  peaceful  and  soli- 
tary, where  one  may,  as  the  saying  goes,  give 
audience  to  one’s  thoughts,  or,  in  more  prosaic 
phrase,  enjoy  a siesta,  to  which  a soft  couch  of 
moss  and  never  broken  twilight  invite  one. 

I may  be  allowed  to  make  a digression  here 
and  take  the  opportunity  to  lay  down  some  rules 
for  flower  plantations  and  the  like. 

I have  unfortunately  to  contend  with  an  un- 
favorable climate  in  the  Neisse  Valley,  and  can 
only  rely  on  half-hardy  shrubs  with  the  help  of 
careful  covering  to  prevent  freezing,  such  as  some 
of  the  cytisus,  calicanthus,  cercis,  amygdalus, 
hibiscus,  hydrangea,  rhododendron,  comptonia, 
etc.,  while  the  still  more  delicate  ones,  like  liq- 
uidamber,  magnolia,  azalea,  etc.,  and  even  the 
Prunus  lusitanica^  so  hardy  in  England,  Pyrus 
japonicUy  arbutus,  viburnum,  ilex  varieties  and 
some  of  the  andromedas,  etc.,  must  be  protected 
every  winter  in  portable  houses.  I therefore  give 


146  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  hardier  kinds,  although  they  are  more  com- 
mon, the  preference,  since  one  should  refrain  as 
far  as  possible  from  trying  to  force  Nature  too 
much  or  too  often ; for  even  a quite  common 
red  thorn,  for  instance,  if  it  is  in  vigorous  bloom, 
or  a bush  honeysuckle,  etc.,  has  a better  appear- 
ance than  a suffering  exotic  growth,  which  in  a 
more  suitable  climate  might  possibly  have  un- 
folded in  its  fullest  splendor.  In  general  the 
chief  decoration  is  made  by  potted  plants,  which 
are  so  arranged  in  permanent  stands  that  they  do 
not  injure  the  lawn  nor  let  the  pots  and  tubs 
show  in  an  unsightly  manner.  For  instance,  the 
oleanders  surrounding  a semicircular  bank  were 
placed  in  long  semicircular  boxes  and  lowered 
into  a trench  of  masonry  work  built  behind 
the  bank,  and  as  the  branches  reach  down  to  the 
ground  they  appear  to  be  growing  out  of  it. 
Single  pomegranate  and  other  trees  are  enclosed 
in  pretty  stands  made  to  fit  them  exactly,  and 
surrounded  with  flower  pots  in  such  a way  that 
the  tub  containing  the  tree  is  not  to  be  seen  and 
only  its  crown  rises  from  the  midst.  Should 
one  desire,  however,  that  an  isolated  stem  remain 
visible,  then  the  tub  as  well  may  be  inserted  in 
a walled  funnel  and  the  top  covered  with  pots 
with  low  flowers  set  in  green  moss.  If  these 
half-hardy  plants  have  to  be  removed  in  late 
autumn,  then  they  must  be  replaced  by  hardier 
kinds,  or  by  baskets  with  potted  flowers  which 
are  not  afraid  of  a little  frost,  like  asters,  etc. 
The  walled  openings  in  the  earth  must  be  wide 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


147 


enough  to  allow  plenty  of  air  to  reach  the  tubs, 
and  the  tubs  too  must  be  set  only  halfway  in 
the  earth. 

I have  already  said  that  on  the  whole  masses 
of  congenial  colors  are  to  be  preferred  to  the 
mixture  of  many  kinds.  But  so  far  as  concerns 
the  sequence  of  the  flowers,  not  to  be  too  dis- 
cursive, I will  only  give  the  example  of  the  way 
I have  treated  the  specimens  I have  mentioned, 
the  fan  (f),  the  star  with  the  “H”  {f)i  the 
quadruple  square  (g),  in  the  blue  flower  garden, 
and  the  cornucopia  [h). 

The  fan  (e)  comes  first  into  bloom  with  yel- 
low crocus.  Then  it  is  planted  with  gillyflower 
so  that  they  make  rings  of  various  colors  all  over 
it,  with  a dark  point  in  the  middle,  from  which 
the  shadings  are  graduated  to  the  circumfer- 
ence. 

The  same  device  is  lastly  devoted  to  Aster 
chinensis,  which  blossoms  right  into  autumn, 
when  our  stay  in  the  country  is  at  an  end  as  a 
rule.  Generally  only  lovers  of  hunting  are  left 
behind,  who  demand  no  flowers ; only  the  hares. 
The  two  round  baskets  next  the  fan  are  planted 
first  with  dark  double  golden  wallflowers  and 
later  with  Lobelia  cardinalis. 

The  star  opposite  the  fan  begins  with  double 
tulips ; after  these  come  bright  red  pelagoniums 
planted  from  pots,  which  also  last  till  autumn. 
Four  baskets  surround  this  device  also,  which 
begins  with  bright-colored  mixed  single  tulips, 
but  for  second  flowering  have  two  with  Eli- 


148  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


chrysum  bracteatum  surrounded  by  Verbenia  auble- 
tia,  and  two  with  Ueliotropium  peruvianum.  The 
square  g (in  the  blue  flower  garden)  begins  with 
double  hyacinths,  which  are  arranged  in  the 
four  compartments  shaded  in  four  colors  and 
planted  as  close  as  possible.  Then  follow,  but 
in  a different  arrangement,  Gomphrena  globosa  in 
three  colors;  h,  the  cornucopia  has  a yellow 
tip,  which  is  made  up  throughout  the  year  with 
flowers  of  Mimulus  guttatus,  which  must  be  put 
in  at  various  times  in  order  to  last  till  late  au- 
tumn. Its  other  sections  are  variegated  in  color 
by  Silene  bipartita ^ Viola  grandißora,  and  Lobelia 
ericoides.  But  the  mouth  where  the  cornucopia 
pours  out  a great  mass  of  flowers  is  filled  through- 
out the  summer  with  all  sorts  of  bright  flowers 
in  pots  embedded  in  moss  and  some  pumpkins 
placed  among  them,  to  make  the  contours  of  the 
outpour  as  indistinguishable  as  possible. 

All  figures  of  this  complicated  kind  are  as  a 
rule  bordered  with  boxwood  outlining  their 
form  more  clearly  and  firmly,  which  flower  bor- 
ders can  never  do  with  such  precision.  But 
with  single  beds  of  regular,  simple  shape,  such 
as  circles,  ovals,  squares,  unless  wicker  edging  is 
preferred,  I make  use  of  any  of  the  low  flowers 
which  serve  the  purpose  of  bordering.  Such  a 
border,  however,  must  never  be  used  around 
shrubs  irregular  in  contour,  which  would  thus 
give  a stiff  appearance. 

For  climbing  plants  various  trellises  are  made 
of  strong  wire,  which  in  themselves  are  quite 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


149 


pretty  things,  and  which  allow  the  plants  to 
cling  freely  on  all  sides.  In  England  one  can  find 
them  ready-made  and  of  neat  workmanship, 
whether  as  gates,  arches,  overhead  trellis,  broken 
pillars,  or  little  obelisks;  here,  however,  they 
must  be  made  by  capable  smiths  from  drawings. 

Among  other  effects  a very  pretty  one  is 
Glycine  sinensis  trained  on  an  overhead  shelter 
like  an  umbrella,  when  its  thick  blue  clusters 
of  flowers  show  through  the  wire  interstices. 
(See  Plate  XI V,  i ; and  the  arch  2,  for  an  orna- 
mental entrance  planted  with  Cobea  scandens; 
and  3,  the  gilt  aureole  glory  {Vergoldeten  Glorie')^ 
on  which  various  kinds  of  clematis  are  climbing; 
or  4,  the  blue  basket  with  gilt  tips  crowned  with 
red  Bignonia  radicans;  5 is  a flower  basket  whose 
edge  is  made  of  leaves  made  of  tiles.)  The 
leaves  are  furnished  underneath  with  long  spikes 
which  fix  them  in  the  earth,  and  so  can  with 
little  trouble  be  put  in  and  taken  out  one  by 
one.  It  is  a cheap,  durable,  and  at  the  same  time 
very  ornate,  border. 

We  now  return,  with  the  reader’s  permission 
(whose  patience  I hope  I have  not  exhausted), 
to  our  promenade,  and  we  ascend  the  steps  (z) 
which  lead  to  the  great  castle  landing  where  we 
must  linger  awhile.  One  can  see  on  the  plan 
that  a flight  of  steps  forty  feet  wide  starts  from 
the  landing,  and  leads  by  fifteen  steps  of  granite 
to  the  lawn  of  the  bowling  green  before  the 
castle.  In  front  of  the  steps  are  four  flower  beds, 
and  a little  farther  on  a resting-place  at  a colos- 


150  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


sal  Ariadne  lying  on  her  pedestal,  surrounded  by 
rose  trees  supported  by  gilt  stakes.  Beyond  this 
ornamental  foreground  may  be  seen  the  moun- 
tains in  the  distance,  with  the  “Burg”  pre- 
cincts. The  river  cannot  be  seen  from  this  spot, 
as  it  is  hidden  by  the  dams,  nor  was  a water 
view  desirable  here,  since  it  may  be  had  on  three 
other  sides  of  the  castle.  The  middle  distance 
thus  unfolds  merely  a wide  green  flat  extending 
from  the  castle  to  the  iron  fence  which  divides 
the  “ pleasure-ground  ” from  the  park.  This 
fence  is  adorned  with  blooming  shrubs  and  some 
masses  of  flowers.  After  this  only  meadows 
grazed  by  sheep  arid  cows  are  to  be  seen,  and 
also  groups  of  tall  trees,  under  whose  foliage  the 
mountains  and  buildings  crowning  them  seem 
to  retreat  to  a greater  distance  than  is  really  the 
case.  The  second  middle  distance  is  formed  by 
the  row  of  hills  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
with  its  plateau  and  large  clumps  of  bushes  scat- 
tered over  them.  This  view,  which  was  formerly 
entirely  hidden  by  an  avenue  of  tall  limes  that 
I opened  out,  is  already  familiar  to  the  reader 
from  Plate  II.  The  cutting  of  the  avenue  was 
undertaken  by  me  with  such  precaution  that  I 
invited  the  younger  Repton  from  England  merely 
for  the  purpose  of  consulting  him  on  this  im- 
portant point.  Mr.  Aday  Repton  is,  however, 
more  of  an  architect  than  a landscape  artist,  and 
apart  from  the  fact  that  he  confirmed  me  in  my 
plan  by  his  authority,  I must  confess  that  (partly 
on  the  grounds  I have  given  on  page  16)  he 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


151 


could  be  of  little  service.  But  I must  accord 
him  all  praise  for  the  readiness,  I may  say  the 
heartiness,  with  which  he,  contrary  to  English 
habits,  bestrode  my  hobby-horse  with  me.  A 
very  well-recommended  English  gardener,  whom 
I had  also  written  for,  showed  himself  very  serv- 
iceable in  technical  matters,  but  in  matters  of 
taste  too  much  a slave  of  custom,  as  soon  as  one 
left  him,  if  only  for  a moment,  to  his  own  de- 
vices. Among  other  things  I could  not  make  him 
understand  that  groups  need  not  always  be  planted 
more  or  less  en  quinquonce . He  maintained  that 
in  England  this  shape  is  considered  the  best 
(wherein  no  doubt  he  was  right),  and  there  he 
stuck.  Besides  this,  the  fact  that  they  lack  ade- 
quate knowledge  of  our  language  always  remains 
with  such  people  a great  hindrance ; therefore,  I 
soon  found  myself  obliged  to  send  him  back, 
which  I mention  in  order  to  keep  others  from 
making  the  same  mistake. 

Much  better  service  was  rendered  me  by  the 
inexhaustible  pains  and  capable  adaptation  of 
my  plans  by  my  German  head  gardener  Rehder, 
a member  of  the  Prussian  Society  of  Gardeners. 
Certainly  not  a little  was  contributed  by  him  to 
the  conquest  of  many  difficulties,  among  which 
the  unfavorable  climate  of  North  Germany  stands 
first,  which,  especially  in  our  cold  region,  makes 
the  gardener’s  a truly  difficult  calling.  I make 
this  remark  because  many  gardeners  spoil  the 
best  instructions  because  of  their  self-conceit,  so 
typical  of  the  German  middle  classes.  The  bet- 


152  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


ter  they  have  been  grounded  in  their  specialty, 
and  naturally,  therefore,  the  more  competent  they 
are  technically  than  their  masters,  the  more  are 
they  inclined  to  assume  as  well  their  superiority 
in  esthetic  questions,  and  thus  spoil  everything 
by  thinking  to  do  everything  better,  instead  of 
energetically  supporting  and  furthering  the  suc- 
cess of  the  artistic  ideas  of  others  by  means  of 
their  technical  science.  An  adaptable,  patient, 
and  at  the  same  time  clever,  practical  man  is  not 
at  all  so  easy  to  find  as  one  may  think,  and  it 
would  be  a good  thing  if  particular  stress  were 
laid  on  these  requirements  of  education  in  our 
new  schools  for  gardeners.  Young  men  who 
from  the  beginning  think  too  much  of  them- 
selves and  want  to  be  too  important  are  of  no 
use;  and  I would  say,  half  in  jest  and  half  in 
earnest,  a gardener  to  my  taste  must  have  more 
of  the  character  of  the  good  Wagner  in  him 
than  of  the  restless  Faust,  and  very  rarely  kick 
against  the  things  of  this  world,  least  of  all 
against  patience,  and  especially  obedience. 

The  flight  of  steps,  where  we  last  paused,  is 
also  built  after  Schinkel’s  drawing.  From  both 
sides  of  the  landing-stage  extends  a series  of  steps 
ten  feet  wide  alongside  of  the  building,  where 
orange  trees  are  set,  and  between  these  on  each 
step  are  iron  pillars  surmounted  with  lanterns. 
Festoons  connect  these  pillars  and  at  the  same 
time  give  the  trees  the  very  necessary  support 
which  their  exposed  situation  requires.  On  fes- 
tive occasions,  moreover,  they  serve  for  stringing 


Plate  XV.  View  of  the  Castle  from  the  Bowling  Green,  showing  Steps  with  Orange  Trees  and  (to  the  left) 

the  Old  Castle 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


153 


lamps  upon,  which  make  a very  charming  effect 
in  the  foliage  of  the  orange  trees.  Iron  chains 
separate  the  trees  from  the  road.  Plate  XV  gives 
the  aspect  of  the  flight  and  the  castle  view  from 
the  bowling  green. 

Descending  the  flight  of  steps  from  the  left, 
we  now  come  into  a shrubbery,  where  an  orna- 
mented grate  leads  to  the  second  flower  garden, 
of  quite  a different  character.  To  distinguish  it 
from  the  other  it  is  called  the  “ blue  garden,” 
because  it  is  enclosed  with  steel-blue  halberds 
and  chains,  and  all  edgings,  bridges,  benches, 
etc.  (made  of  iron  throughout),  are  painted  sky- 
blue  and  white. 

The  newly  dug  arm  of  the  Neisse  flows 
through  the  middle  of  these  grounds,  which  are 
terminated  on  one  side  by  thick  woods,  on  the 
other  bv  a tall  avenue  of  limes,  between  whose 
branches  only  a few  narrow  views  have  been 
arranged,  in  order  not  to  encroach  on  the  char- 
acter of  secrecy  and  seclusion,  which  is  my  chief 
aim  here.  The  former  outlook  on  the  “Bur^” 
precincts  is  altogether  hidden  here,  but  one  fol- 
lows the  continuation  of  the  same  chain  of  hills 
covered  with  a wide  wood,  from  which  the 
salient  points  are  a few  primeval  oaks  on  the 
highest  hilltops. 

Not  far  from  the  entrance  on  an  eminence 
stands  a bench  surrounded  with  flowers  [k)  with 
a view  between  the  linden  branches  of  the  hill, 
in  the  middle  of  the  landscape,  on  which  the 
temple  of  Perseverance  is  to  stand.  Its  summit 


154  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


is  provisionally  crowned  only  by  a terrace  and 
pavilion.  At  the  side  under  the  bench  mentioned 
is  a very  thick  and  shady  grove  of  limes  near  the 
water  (/),  and  here  a small  boat  is  stationed  for 
quicker  communication  with  the  avenue  oppo- 
site. A gleaming  colored  lantern  of  peculiar 
construction,  which  forms  the  center  of  a broken 
iron  hoop,  marks  this  point  at  night  at  a long 
distance  off. 

Behind  the  grove,  through  a wire  arch  into 
the  third  garden,  called  the  “ Herrengarten,” 
the  path  leads  as  far  as  the  river,  which  serves 
as  its  boundary  on  this  side.  Soon  afterwards  we 
come  to  an  airy  resting-place  like  a kind  of 
temple  whose  thin  iron  pillars  serve  as  sup- 
ports for  various  kinds  of  clematis.  The  view  be- 
tween them  opens  to  the  west  and  north.  In  the 
first  direction  one  can  see  the  town  and  one  of 
the  farms  on  the  height;  in  the  other,  one  fol- 
lows the  bend  of  the  river  in  the  valley,  and 
various  parts  of  the  forest  on  its  shores,  not 
hitherto  visible.  (See  Table  XVI.)  At  the  side 
stands  another  bench  among  flowers  on  the 
lawn,  made  of  tree-trunks  turned  upside  down 
so  that  the  roots  form  a crown.  These  inter- 
woven roots  are  richly  embellished  with  clema- 
tis, mosses,  and  flowers  in  pots,  and  present  an 
original  appearance,  far  removed  from  the  com- 
monplace. The  last  resting-place  is  under  four 
oaks  near  a waterfall  (n)  where  the  river  plunges 
over  a smooth  wall  of  broad  stones  in  full  tor- 
rent, natural-looking  and  unbroken  by  any  ob- 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


155 


Stacie.  From  here  one  returns  to  the  castle  in  a 
diagonal  direction  to  the  exit  through  masses  of 
shrubbery  and  flower  beds,  mingled  with  various 
decorations  over  the  grassy  carpet.  A visit  to 
the  stables,  the  race-course,  and  the  theater  (0), 
which  one  passes  on  one’s  return,  may  termi- 
nate the  walk  for  those  who  are  interested  in  such 
things. 

So  as  not  to  become  tedious,  I must  pass  over 
the  numerous  promenades  in  the  closed  “ pleas- 
ure-ground,” as  well  as  in  the  open  park;  so  I 
offer  the  obliging  reader  a seat  in  the  garden 
wagon  (called  “Ligne,”  on  which  several  per- 
sons can  be  seated  and  look  around  on  all  sides) 
for  the 

FIRST  CARRIAGE  DRIVE 

As  it  begins  from  the  castle,  one  cannot  any 
longer  follow  the  historic  arrangement  which  I 
gave  the  park  previously,  but  must  choose  the 
second,  which  allows  more  freedom,  and  as  the 
first  view  has  left  a good  idea  of  the  estate  as  a 
whole,  one  may  now  be  free  to  enjoy  a pleasant 
change.  But  if  one  would  like  to  proceed  quite 
systematically,  he  could  also  look  over  the  park 
more  especially  along  the  footpaths  according  to 
the  divisions  suggested  by  the  fundamental  idea ; 
the  park  also  may  be  visited,  which  carries  out 
the  same  main  idea. 

So,  beginning  from  the  castle,  we  will  first  visit 
(following  the  arrow)  the  orange  houses  [p  on 
the  ground-plan  B ; for  the  whole  btablissement 


156  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


see  the  ground-plan  D).  From  the  salon  in  the 
middle  of  the  first  orangery  (i)  looking  beyond 
a large  bed  of  rhododendrons,  we  have  a view 
of  an  avenue  of  limes  a hundred  years  old,  about 
a thousand  paces  long,  and  in  winter,  on  both 
sides  of  the  salon,  there  are  also  two  avenues  of 
orange  trees  to  be  seen,  which  will  be  termi- 
nated by  palm  houses.  From  here  one  passes  (2), 
through  a flower  house  in  the  form  of  a gallery, 
into  the  hothouses.  From  this  gallery  we  see  on 
the  left  the  winter  garden  (3),  and  on  the  right 
a landscape,  not  without  charm,  even  in  winter, 
of  which  the  features  are  the  lake  Lucie,  the 
town,  and  the  mountains  rising  beyond.  Next 
we  enter  the  hothouses  (4),  in  front  of  which  is 
the  flower  nursery  surrounded  by  trellis  walls  {5), 
at  the  side  the  large  kitchen  garden  (6),  then 
the  hotbeds  (7),  the  garden  courtyard,  the  gar- 
den inspector’s  house  (8),  and  the  second  orange 
house  (9),  as  well  as  the  concealed  places  (10 
and  ii),  where  everything  is  kept,  which,  al- 
though useful  and  necessary,  presents  nothing 
agreeable  to  the  eye.  All  the  sheds  and  out- 
houses, etc.,  are  collected  here,  and  finally  a large 
space  (12)  at  the  end  of  the  garden,  near  the 
stables  of  the  garden  horses,  which  is  used  solely 
for  the  compost  heaps.  This  arrangement  makes 
it  possible  to  keep  the  vegetable  garden  itself 
always  clean  and  elegant,  and  to  use  the  shelter 
of  its  walls  for  a sunny  promenade.  After  inspec- 
tion of  these  features  we  pass  the  “ pleasure- 
ground,”  close  behind  the  house,  and  drive 


iMII'ik,  „ 

M\  ‘Uti'ii;',!».''.' 


A View  of  the  River  as  Arranged  and  Improved  by  Prince  Piickler  in  his 
Park  at  Muskau 
Redrawn  from  an  Old  Print 


Photograph  by  Thomas  W.  Sears 
A Rough  Stone  Bridge  in  the-Rafk  of  Muskau 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


157 


through  an  open  grove  of  trees  on  the  lawn  to 
the  meadow  flats  which  lie  between  the  castle 
and  the  Neisse,  and  which  open  several  views 
toward  the  castle  region  as  well  as  toward  chains 
of  hills.  The  most  favorable  points  are  always 
marked  by  simple  stone  seats  on  the  road. 

In  a little  time  we  reach  a small  wood  near 
the  river,  follow  this  for  a time,  and  on  passing 
out  of  the  wood  we  cross,  by  a rustic  stone  bridge 
with  a rough  stone  weir,  over  the  newly  chan- 
neled arm  of  the  Neisse  not  far  from  its  junction 
with  the  main  stream,  and  then,  turning  back, 
we  climb  the  western  side  of  the  Neisse  Valley. 

On  reaching  the  top  [q.  Plan  B)  we  see  be- 
low, bordering  on  an  oak  grove,  a lake  of  con- 
siderable area  with  some  wooded  islands  and  a 
magnificent  forest  prospect  with  the  mountains 
in  the  background.  At  the  side  down  below 
stands  a fisherman’s  hut  on  a projecting  tongue 
of  land,  around  which  all  kinds  of  nets  spread 
out  and  other  utensils  for  fishing  invite  the  vota- 
ries of  this  sport  to  a rich  harvest.  Near  it  we 
see,  partly  hidden  by  bushes,  some  wax-bleaching 
grounds,  connected  with  a watchman’s  house  and 
an  ice  cellar.  From  here,  for  those  who  like  a 
promenade  on  foot,  there  leads  a narrow  path 
into  thick  bushes  along  the  steep  shore  of  the 
Neisse  to  a convenient  bathing-place,  a resting- 
place  on  the  height  with  various  picturesque 
views  toward  the  wooded  shore  of  the  river,  and 
then,  continuing  to  the  bridge  over  the  Neisse 
at  Kobeln,  on  the  border  of  the  park  (r),  from 


158  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


whence  we  can  return  to  the  castle  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  passing  the  English  house,  or 
any  other  favorite  spot  by  sequestered  and  shady 
footpaths. 

We  will  follow  meanwhile  the  drive,  and 
reach,  after  a short  distance  a side  of  the  “pleas- 
ure-ground” new  to  us,  at  the  entrance  of  which 
a gayly  colored  Gloriette^  executed  from  a draw- 
ing by  Herr  Geheimrath  Schinkel,  looks  down 
from  its  mound  of  bloom  into  the  valley  (r). 
This  side  is  closed  toward  the  road,  but  presents 
toward  the  interior  of  the  park  four  separate 
bays,  which  frame  in  each  one  a separate  picture. 
The  first  to  the  left  is  that  mentioned  on  pages 
41-42,  which  I quote  as  an  example  of  the  way 
in  which  unity  could  be  combined  with  variety 
(N.  B.  of  the  same  kind).  (See  Plate  XVII.) 
The  second  embraces  a wide  stretch  of  meadow, 
with  groups  of  tall  trees,  the  Neisse  with  its 
tributaries  in  the  middle,  and  hills  covered  with 
foliage  behind,  without  the  break  of  any  habita- 
tion. (See  Plate  XVIII.)  The  third  bay  shows 
in  the  distance,  about  a quarter  of  an  hour’s  walk 
from  the  castle,  a side  view  of  a portion  of  the 
town  with  the  German  church  emerging  from 
the  trees,  and  in  the  farther  distance  on  the  hori- 
zon the  village  of  Lucknitz  (/)  standing  out 
against  a darkly  wooded  hill.  (See  Plate  XIX.) 
Finally,  the  last  bay  frames  in  the  ruins  of  the 
old  Catholic  church  {u)  of  the  village  of  Berg, 
flanked  by  two  tall  lime  trees. 

We  will  drive  now  within  the  “pleasure- 


Plate  XVIII.  View  of  Meadow,  Trees,  River,  and  Hills 


Plate  XIX.  Another  View  of  the  Castle  and  Lawn 


. I 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


159 


ground,”  which  is  everywhere  divided  from  the 
park  by  a rail  fence  to  keep  off  the  grazing  cat- 
tle as  well  as  to  distinguish  quite  clearly  the 
limit  which  should  divide  art  and  nature,  and 
proceed  under  a grove  of  foreign  woods  and 
bushes,  and  then  gradually  descend  into  the  v2l\- 
ley,  getting  a near  view  of  the  castle  from  the 
west,  turn  left  to  the  old  castle,  passing  the  Platz 
with  the  equestrian  statue  of  the  Nibelungen 
hero,  and  arrive,  turning  sharply  east,  at  a bridge, 
from  one  side  of  which  both  castles  are  seen  mir- 
rored in  the  water,  and  (Plate  XX)  from  the 
other  (i;)  a waterfall,  made  of  colossal  granite 
stones,  of  which  plenty  are  to  be  found  in  this 
region.  The  waterfall  was  constructed  as  I have 
indicated,  so  that  it  by  no  means  is  intended  to 
represent  a bed  of  rock,  which  is  not  natural  in 
these  parts,  but  rather  to  look  as  if  the  river  in 
some  flood  had  rolled  the  stones  here,  and,  find- 
ing an  obstruction,  had  merely  heaped  them  up 
to  an  unusual  extent.  Therefore,  several  blocks 
are  scattered  in  front  and  as  many  behind  the 
waterfall,  to  bring  about  the  natural  effect,  but 
the  sides  are  clothed  with  overhanging  bushes 
and  water  plants,  and  herbaceous  plants  and  pots 
of  flowers,  packed  in  moss,  are  scattered  between 
the  stones  so  that  they  seem  to  grow  out  of  the 
rockery  and  enhance  the  rich  and  natural  effect 
of  the  whole.  A view  of  it  has  already  been 
given. 

Behind  the  waterfall  we  leave  the  “ pleasure- 
ground”  and  continue  on  the  meadow  level  of 


i6o  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  park,  along  the  arm  of  the  river  as  far  as  the 
Lock,  where  the  branch  has  been  led  off  from 
the  main  stream.  Here  a weir  has  been  built,  to 
keep  the  mass  of  water  which  is  to  be  let  into 
the  newly  dug  channel  always  under  control. 
Near  the  weir  a bridge  crosses  to  the  opposite 
shore.  From  this  point  the  road  rises  gently  up 
the  eastern  bank  on  the  right  of  the  Neisse  in 
the  woods,  as  far  as  the  pheasantry  (w),  which 
is  not  yet  completed.  I have  projected  it  in  an 
uncommon  form,  after  the  model  of  a Turkish 
country  house,  for  which  I must  thank  Herr 
Rittmeister  von  Moliere,  who  copied  it  during 
the  Russo-Turkish  campaign.  It  will  be  roofed 
with  bright  glazed  tiles,  and  besides  the  neces- 
sary dwelling-houses  for  the  keeper  and  his  fam- 
ily, will  be  furnished  with  a salon,  which  is  quite 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  building.  From 
here  one  steps  out  on  to  a terrace  (x)  where, 
looking  under  a few  acacias,  the  whole  pheas- 
antry is  seen  spread  out,  while  above  it,  through 
a wide  gap  in  the  foliage,  one  may  descry  the 
river,  the  post-bridge  on  the  highway  toward 
Sorau,  the  baths,  and  the  alum  and  refining  works 
in  the  distance.  (See  Plate  XXL)  A walk  in  the 
fenced-in  pheasantry  is  not  without  interest,  as 
gold,  silver,  and  black  and  white  pheasants  are 
kept  here,  and  in  the  green  square  with  a pavil- 
ion in  its  center  one  can  conveniently  watch  the 
feeding  of  the  pheasants  and  the  hundreds  of 
birds  gathering  in  an  instant  at  the  call  of  the 
keeper,  and  their  comical  excitement  as  they  dis- 


Plate  XX.  View  of  Old  and  New  Castles  and  Lake  Lucie 


w 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


i6i 


pute  for  the  grains  of  wheat,  quite  fearless  of 
human  beings. 

This  last  section,  which  is  not  visible  on  the 
plate,  I have  tried  to  plant  entirely  with  ever- 
greens to  give  it  a charming  appearance  in  win- 
ter as  well  as  summer,  and  to  act  as  a background 
for  the  many  colors  of  the  birds. 

Connected  with  the  pheasantry,  but  outside 
of  its  fence,  I have  built  a small  dairy  for  Swiss 
cows  which  are  kept  here  in  the  neighborhood 
for  the  convenience  of  the  castle.  At  a short  dis- 
tance a high  chain  bridge  crosses  over  a deep 
ravine  eighty  feet  wide,  and  an  extended  view 
over  the  northwest  Neisse  Valley  opens  suddenly 
on  the  other  side  under  an  ancient  oak.  In  the 
foreground  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  is  the  dairy  (y) 
arranged  in  English  style,  in  which  milk  foods  of 
all  kinds  can  be  kept  and  prepared  and  eaten  on 
the  spot  in  a cool  and  elegant  house,  a refresh- 
ment which  is  very  welcome  after  the  long  walk. 

As  many  people,  perhaps,  have  no  exact  con- 
ception of  what  a “dairy”  is,  I will  describe  one 
in  a very  few  words : It  is  a simple  pavilion  with 
a basin  of  water  in  the  middle,  in  which  the  milk 
pans  float.  All  around  you  find  tables  and  chairs 
ready  for  use.  The  windows  are  generally  pro- 
vided with  colored  glass,  and  various  milk  prep- 
arations stand  in  china  and  porcelain  dishes  on 
tables,  arranged  with  tasteful  symmetry.  Some 
beds  of  sweet-scented  but  not  conspicuous  flow- 
ers, like  violets,  mignonette,  etc.,  surround  the 
dairy  outside. 


1 62  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


The  next  item  to  attract  our  attention  in  con- 
tinuing our  drive  is  the  temple  of  Perseverance 
(«)  to  which  also  an  exceptionally  lonely  path 
leads  from  the  dairy  in  thickets  of  beech  so  dense 
that  the  sun  has  only  room  to  gild  the  green 
dome  of  leaves.  A mountain  stream  trickles 
through  this  wood  and  parts,  near  a rough  bridge 
of  oak-trunks,  in  the  most  hidden  corner  of  the 
bushes,  into  several  little  waterfalls,  which  have 
been  managed  by  heaping  up  very  large  stones 
collected  for  the  purpose.  Many  of  these  small 
footpaths  in  the  park  are  named  after  ladies  who 
suggested  them,  and  the  inscription  shows  these 
names  on  a stone  at  the  beginning  of  the  path, 
which  is  useful  at  the  same  time  for  the  guidance 
of  the  visitor. 

One  can  arrive  at  the  temple  by  the  drive  or 
the  footpath;  in  either  case  one  will  first  be 
aware  of  it  only  on  arrival  at  the  spot.  A little 
wood  of  oak  conceals  it  until  that  moment,  and 
the  roads  are  purposely  laid  out  for  this  effect  of 
surprise.  The  moment  one  enters  this  temple  the 
view  unfolds  between  single  standing  pillars  of 
Silesian  marble  set  on  a granite  base,  and  covered 
with  a gilded  iron  roof,  crowned  by  an  eagle 
with  wings  outspread.^  From  the  seat  at  the  back 
wall  of  the  temple  one  has  a wide  view,  which 
is  composed  of  the  course  of  the  stream  on  the 
right,  as  it  gradually  disappears  in  the  wood,  in 

* To  avoid  all  misunderstanding,  I repeat  that,  in  order  not  to  break 
the  thread  of  my  description  at  every  moment,  much  which  is  only  pro- 
posed has  to  be  described  as  though  already  complete. 


Plate  XXIV.  The  “Prince”  Bridge  over  a Ravine 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


163 


front  of  the  broad  side  of  the  castle  with  its  or- 
namental flight  of  steps,  and  on  the  left  the  mill, 
the  dam,  and  the  foaming,  roaring  waterfall.  (See 
Plate  XXII.) 

The  temple  is  to  be  adorned  with  nothing  but 
a bronze  bust  standing  in  the  center.  I have  used 
the  bust  of  our  King  Frederick  William  III, 
because  he  is  a monarch  who  in  every  respect 
shines  forth  as  a model  of  Perseverance  of  our 
times,  the  virtue  to  which  the  temple  is  dedi- 
cated. A cornucopia,  hanging  down  from  above, 
symbolically  pours  its  treasures  over  him,  but  in 
the  evening  it  will  light  up  with  a ray  of  glory 
the  head  so  dearly  beloved.  (See  Plate  XXIII.) 
A formal  flower  garden  protected  by  an  iron 
palisade  ends  at  the  steps,  not  without  signifi- 
cance— for  perseverance  in  good  and  right  pre- 
pares for  our  lives  a bed  of  flowers,  even  though 
they  only  bloom  within  our  souls. 

We  drive  now  over  a second  bridge  over  a 
ravine,  which  I have  named  “Prince”  bridge.* 

‘ The  giving  of  this  name  is  in  token  of  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
happenings  in  our  region.  I speak  of  the  presence  in  Muskau  of  His 
Royal  Highness  the  Crown  Prince  and  his  Consort.  When  I had  the 
good  fortune  of  escorting  their  Royal  Highnesses,  the  Crown  Prince, 
a fine  connoisseur,  made  the  very  judicious  remark  that  a bridge  at  the 
end  of  a waterless  ravine  which  it  crosses  has  never  a good  appearance, 
and  hence  should  be  more  concealed  than  shown.  I had  felt  this  blem- 
ish myself,  but  had  no  facilities  for  altering  it,  as  the  road,  for  other 
reasons,  could  not  be  changed.  His  Royal  Highness  then  gave  me  the 
advice  to  face  the  whole  side  of  the  wooden  bridge  with  a trellis  of 
young  oak  staves  in  the  form  of  an  arch  and  to  have  it  overgrown  with 
Virginia  creeper,  beneath  which  the  ravine  would  be  seen  in  the  depths 
as  though  under  a natural  grotto.  This  gracious  advice  was  followed, 
and  the  elFect  not  only  did  away  with  a blemish,  but  substituted  for  it  a 
considerable  improvement.  (See  Plate  XXIV.) 


164  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


We  now  proceed,  without  any  distant  views  in 
the  woods,  first  on  the  heights,  then  descending 
under  a small  bridge  (see  Plate  XXV)  made  of 
oak  branches  with  the  bark  left  on,  and  continu- 
ing toward  the  river,  along  which  we  go  for  a 
little  while,  then  crossing  a broad  meadow  called 
the  “ Erlwiese  ” (formerly  a bottomless  morass) 
and  dedicated  to  the  “ Erlkönig,”  and  ascending 
the  height  once  more,  we  see  at  the  last  bend  of 
the  road  the  English  house  {aa)  which,  in  con- 
trast with  the  temple  scene,  presents  the  charac- 
teristics of  gay  rural  social  life.  A “ cottage  ” in 
the  foreground,  overgrown  with  roses  and  Vir- 
ginia creeper,  contains  some  rooms  reserved  for 
the  “ Herrschaft.”  On  the  left  in  the  shade  we 
can  see  between  the  branches  a covered  bowling 
alley ; a grass  plot,  with  three  arbor-like  seats 
near  by  for  those  who  wish  to  enjoy  Nature  and 
the  open  air.  In  the  central  arbor  are  placed  pier 
glasses  which  reproduce  the  most  attractive  points 
of  the  surrounding  landscape. 

A second  “cottage  ” adjacent  serves  as  a dwell- 
ing for  the  cafe  keeper,  and  as  shelter  for  guests 
in  unfavorable  weather.  On  the  other  side  is  seen 
a pavilion,  which  contains  a small  ballroom  and 
two  rooms  for  games.  Farther  on  a bird  pole  and 
targets  have  been  set  up  for  marksmen,  besides 
a range  for  pistol  shooting,  the  same  thing  seen 
in  Paris  at  Lepages;  also  in  Pyrmont  and  other 
places. 

On  a hill  opposite  stands  an  isolated  salon  in 
the  bushes,  built  of  rough  logs  of  bark,  which  is 


Plate  XXV.  Bridge  made  of  Oak  Branches 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


165 


also  reserved  for  the  Herrschaft,  and  from  which 
the  whole  tableau  of  the  crowd  enjoying  them- 
selves below  may  be  viewed  just  as  one  may 
choose  without  coming  into  closer  contact.  The 
village  of  Kobeln  on  the  outskirts  ot  the  park 
spreads  out  behind  this  animated  foreground,  and 
remains  in  harmony  with  the  character  of  the 
whole.  In  the  middle  of  the  village  a small  bell- 
tower  was  erected,  to  announce  daily  the  approach 
of  dusk.  The  lovers  of  the  idyllic  can  now  with 
delight  watch  the  shepherds  driving  their  flocks 
home  over  the  plain,  and  the  laborers,  after  their 
day’s  work  is  done,  hastening  home  with  song  at 
the  welcome  sound  of  the  bell. 

The  whole  district,  with  a few  walks  in  the 
bushes,  which  in  spring  are  alive  with  nightin- 
gales, is  fenced  with  a trellis  of  rough  branches, 
and  treated  as  a “pleasure-ground”  not  so  care- 
fully laid  out.  (See  Plate  XXVI  for  the  aspect  it 
presents,  and  Plate  XXVII  for  the  view  from  it.) 

The  road  which  we  now  follow  leads  from  the 
English  house,  gently  ascending  to  the  highest 
point  of  the  chain  of  hills.  First  there  are  views 
of  the  Gobelin  colony  {bb')  and  the  wide  flat 
surrounding  it ; later  on  they  lose  themselves  in 
the  woods  where  only  here  and  there  a nar- 
row glimpse  is  afforded  of  the  “ Riesengebirge,” 
which  assumes  an  increasingly  solemn  and  silent 
character,  till  one  reaches  the  eminence  in  the 
“Burg  ” precinct,  where  is  placed  a lonely  statue 
of  the  Holy  Virgin,  this  sweetest  and  mildest  em- 
blem of  the  Christian  religion,  and  farther  on  the 


1 66  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


terrace,  where  the  cemetery  chapel  is  proposed 
(See  Plate  XXVIII,  after  a drawing  by 
Schinkel.) 

Eight  windows  from  the  old  town  church  of 
Boppart  on  the  Rhine,  which  I was  lucky  enough 
to  obtain,  and  which  in  the  opinion  of  experts 
are  by  the  same  hand  as  the  paintings  in  the 
Cologne  Cathedral,  will  adorn  this  church,  as 
also  a crucifixion  on  the  altar  by  Hemskerk. 

As  there  are  Catholic  inhabitants  in  several  of 
my  villages,  and  in  the  town  itself,  without  any 
church  of  their  own,  they  cannot  attend,  as  often 
as  they  might  wish,  the  nearest  mass  two  miles 
distant.  It  is  my  intention  to  arrange  this  chapel 
for  their  worship  as  well,  although  its  main  pur- 
pose is  to  serve  as  cemetery  chapel  for  the  family 
of  the  owners  of  Muskau,  a memento  mori^  in  con- 
stant view  of  the  castle  windows,  though  softened 
and  mellowed  in  the  distance  (as  death  generally 
appears  to  us  in  life). 

One  sees  on  the  plan  the  sexton’s  house  near 
the  chapel,  with  its  Httle  garden,  and  in  front 
of  it  a spacious  courtyard.  The  last  is  sur- 
rounded by  thick  lime  walks  cut  en  berceauXy 
which  have  been  named  after  two  living  men, 
well  known  to  the  public  and  my  good  friends, 
the  philosopher  Gravell  and  the  poet  Leopold 
Schefer.  Religion  cannot  be  in  better  company 
than  that  of  poetry  and  philosophy,  and  the  tru- 
est religion  consists  precisely  of  the  most  intimate 
association  of  both.  Hence  it  will  be  an  appro- 
priate adornment  if,  as  I intend,  the  footpaths 


I't.AM-  \\\  1.  Knjjlisli  Cottage  in  I'ail 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


167 


surrounding  the  churchyard  which  I have  dedi- 
cated to  my  friends  shall  be  graced  with  statues 
of  those  heavenly  sisters,  Poetry  and  Philosophy, 
whilst  the  temple  itself  owes  its  existence  to  the 
conjunction  of  both.  In  a place  so  big  with  mean- 
ing as  this  I thought  it  allowable  to  have  an  in- 
scription which  should  show  its  meaning,  and 
have  chosen  the  following  as  indicating  my  own 
faith  and  the  purpose  of  this  church : — 

“ In  memory  of  loved  ones 
Here  reposes  only  the  vesture  of  the  soul. 

Which  in  those  eternal  regions 
Transformed  and  ever  progressing, 

Ever  creating,  ever  growing, 

Ever  shaping  and  ever  plastic. 

Godlike  lives  with  God.” 

On  entering  the  courtyard  one  observes  against 
the  wall  an  ancient  altar  found  here,  surrounded 
by  the  emblems  of  the  steeds  of  Zeutiber  and 
Svantevit,  which  represent  the  dragon  conquered 
by  Christian  angels  for  the  salvation  of  man. 
Entering  the  church  itself,  we  see  at  the  end  the 
high  altar  I have  just  mentioned,  with  an  altar- 
piece  carved  in  wood,  brightly  painted  and  gilt, 
a beautiful  and  appropriate  work  of  some  old 
master.  We  also  see  at  the  sides  two  small  chap- 
els destined  for  the  obsequies  of  the  family.  In 
the  middle  of  the  church  on  the  right  stands  the 
pulpit,  which  will  be  built  on  the  following  plan, 
in  imitation  of  an  old  church  in  Silesia : Moses 
with  the  Tables  of  the  Law,  and  the  Jewish  high 
priest  with  the  scapegoat  decked  for  sacrifice,  as 


1 68  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  root  of  our  religion,  are  sculptured  in  life- 
size.  Between  them  rises  a stem  surrounded  by 
a light  spiral  stair,  which  unfolds  at  the  top  in 
the  form  of  a gigantic  lily  constituting  the  pul- 
pit. From  the  leaves  of  the  lily  appear  the  three 
beatitudes.  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  and  the 
Angel  of  Judgment  crowns  the  baldachin  above, 
with  the  scales  of  good  and  evil  in  his  right  hand. 
On  the  pillars  opposite  the  pulpit  is  the  golden 
calf  in  high  relief,  with  the  Israelites  dancing 
round  it,  as  an  ever-present  warning  against  the 
greatest  lust  of  man  — the  worship  of  Mammon. 
Behind  the  high  altar  a draped  portal  leads  through 
a short  corridor  into  a dark  temple,  at  the  end 
of  which  a niche  is  disclosed,  where,  brightly 
lighted  from  above  and  from  each  side,  stands 
the  Apollo  Belvedere. 

I hope  that  sensible  people  will  not  charge 
me  with  blasphemy  in  my  intention  to  bring  into 
such  close  contact  the  temple  of  Apollo  and  his 
cult  of  joy  with  the  Christian  temple,  since  I 
had  in  view  here  the  illustration  of  the  general 
idea  of  religion,  and  therefore  it  seemed  to  me 
appropriate  to  surround  its  most  sublime  flower 

— the  Christian  church  — on  the  one  side 
with  a piece  of  crude  heathendom,  as  the  rudi- 
mentary beginning,  and  on  the  other  with  that 
of  one  of  the  noblest,  though  sensuous,  cults 

— that  of  the  gods  of  Greece.  For  all  relig- 
ions have  something  Godlike,  and  God  has 
been  patient  with  them  all,  is  patient  with  so 
many  to-day.  Why  should  we  reject  the  mem- 


Plate  XXVIII.  Proposed  Cemetery  Chapel 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


169 


ory  of  them  totally,  since  we  now  know  the 
better  way  ? Not  as  present  objects  of  religious 
veneration,  but  as  indications  of  historic  develop- 
ments do  they  find  their  place  here. 

A quarter  of  an  hour’s  walk  from  the  chapel 
we  reach  the  “Burg”  [ee^  crossing,  by  a stone 
bridge  of  five  arches,  a ravine  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  wide  and  forty  feet  deep,  overgrown 
with  evergreens  at  the  sides.  The  view  from  here 
has  already  been  described  at  the  beginning  of 
this  chapter.  In  the  interim,  during  the  construc- 
tion of  the  projected  buildings,  a bench  is  placed, 
surrounded  by  a mixed  forest,  so  that  one  must 
mount  a step  to  get  an  open  view.  The  arrange- 
ment of  this  “ Burg  ” plan  also  is  due  to  my 
worthy  friend  Schinkel,  without  whose  inex- 
haustible talent,  and  amiability  no  less  inexhaust- 
ible, I should  perhaps  never  have  been  enabled 
to  arrive  at  a satisfactory  execution  of  my  ideas. 

It  is  indeed  no  small  advantage  for  us  to  have 
such  a man,  whose  beneficial  activity  on  behalf 
of  the  Fatherland  is,  however,  hardly  yet  suffi- 
ciently appreciated.  How  often  have  I wished 
that  the  English,  who  spend  such  enormous  sums 
daily  for  artistic  purposes,  almost  without  results, 
could  obtain  a talent  equal  to  his  with  all  their 
good-will  and  their  wealth.  What  treasures  has 
not  Mr.  Nash  spent  in  such  matters,  and  what 
would  not  Schinkel  have  achieved  with  the  same 
sum  ! 

Yet  even  here  in  my  own  country  are  many 
things  to  regret. 


170  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


Schinkel’s  name  is  renowned,  it  is  true,  and 
becomes  more  so  every  day,  yet  to  the  general 
public  only  his  architectural  achievements  are 
known,  far  less  the  extraordinary  universality  of 
his  genius,  that  native  artistic  force,  which  in 
every  branch  of  art  is  entirely  at  home,  and 
which  can  animate  the  rigid  stone  to  make  the 
grandest  architectural  monuments,  can  in  sculp- 
ture find  the  most  manifold  subjects  for  its  exer- 
cise, and  can  conjure  on  canvas  with  ready  hand 
the  most  impressive  pictures. 

I feel  impelled  to  say  a few  words  concerning 
one  of  the  most  marvelous  compositions  in  the 
latter  art,  pictures  which  in  my  opinion  have 
not  since  the  time  of  Raphael  perhaps  been 
vouchsafed  to  genius.  And  although  my  remarks 
are  really  foreign  to  the  matter  of  this  book 
(which  is  less  ambitious  in  its  aim),  yet  perhaps 
they  may  not  be  quite  unprofitable  or  quite  un- 
welcome to  many. 

I am  speaking  of  those  grandiose  and  profound 
poems,  destined  for  the  wall  of  the  museum  in 
Berlin,  which  have  aroused  the  greatest  attention 
and  enthusiasm  of  all  artists  in  our  country,  and 
whose  completion  for  some  unknown  reason  is 
still  postponed.  Yet  we  may  with  confidence 
hope  that  the  magnificence  of  our  King,  to 
whom  native  art  already  owes  so  much,  since  he 
has  provided  for  his  people  something  to  look  at 
for  centuries  to  come,  will  not  withhold  forever 
from  the  most  intellectual  section  such  a rich 
mine  of  instruction  and  pleasure.  A few  pious 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


171 


persons  who,  probably  by  reason  of  the  happy 
contrast,  have  selected  the  chief  city  of  Frederick 
the  Great  for  a rubbish-heap,  and  whose  propri- 
ety goes  so  far  that  they  would  provide  every 
Cupid  with  a pair  of  breeches  and  every  Venus 
with  underskirts  before  permitting  them  to  be 
exposed  to  the  public  eye,  have  immediately 
come  to  the  front  with  the  dictum  that  the  nude 
in  these  pictures  is  in  any  case  highly  immoral, 
but  still  more  inappropriate  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  holy  cathedral.  (Even  so  these  cheap  holy 
ones  have  recently  protested  against  telegraph 
wires  on  the  church  towers.)  Yet  with  just  as 
much  right  should  the  whole  museum  be  con- 
demned, where  for  some  years  now  the  unutter- 
able has  occurred,  and  great  and  little  have  had 
plentiful  opportunity  for  becoming  familiar  with 
the  nude  and  “ the  gods  of  Greece.”  If  we  can 
view  these  Christian  pictures,  countless  altar- 
pieces,  edifying  representations  of  the  pains  of 
hell,  etc.,  mingled  heterogeneously  with  the  old 
classic  art,  why  should  the  Christian  cathedral 
be  unable  to  endure  the  proximity  of  Schinkel’s 
world-embracing  and  world-historic  ideas  per- 
sonified in  beautiful  human  form  ? Yet  St.  Peter’s 
in  Rome,  the  cathedral  of  Christendom,  permits, 
in  the  near  proximity  of  the  Vatican,  profane 
wall-paintings,  nude  pictures  and  statues  of  all 
kinds;  and  does  not,  in  the  Capitol,  the  altar  of 
Ara  Cceli  lie,  as  it  were,  cheek  by  jowl  with  a 
Bacchus  and  the  Venus  of  Praxiteles  in  the  bare 
adornment  of  nature  ? But  I forget  that  Catho- 


172  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


lies  are  not  so  orthodox  as  Protestants,  and  that 
the  Pope  is  far  too  liberal  for  our  too  Puritanical 
ones.  Better  that  I should  take  my  comparisons 
from  our  daily  life  here,  where  in  my  opinion 
the  contrast  is  equally  remarkable.  For  do  not 
the  theater  and  the  church  here  clasp  hands  in 
the  most  amicable  manner,  do  not  opera  dancers 
every  night  do  their  honorable  best  to  initiate 
Catholics  and  Protestants,  pious  and  impious, 
into  the  mystery  of  the  natural  lines  of  the  hu- 
man body  ? Gauze  and  stockings  do  not  prevent 
the  study  of  the  human  form,  but  nobody  ob- 
jects. 

More  considerable  and  important  than  this  ob- 
stacle seems  to  me  the  desire  that  Schinkel’s  great 
works  may  be  completed  while  their  creator  is  still 
alive  to  direct  their  completion,  for  how  quickly, 
how  suddenly,  the  flame  of  life  is  extinguished, 
even  in  the  most  robust,  often  unforeseen  by  all ! 
Schinkel,  too,  is  not  immortal,  but  his  works  will 
be  if  only  their  free  and  complete  development 
is  permitted,  and  they  be  not  strangled  or  silenced 
in  their  very  birth. 

We  had  stopped  at  the  feudal  castle  in  my 
park.  Plate  XXIX  shows  it  and  its  surroundings. 

During  the  excavations  in  this  neighborhood, 
only  a year  ago,  a well-preserved  skeleton  was 
found  in  an  overgrown  thicket,  only  three  feet 
underground,  apparently  that  of  a fine  young 
man ; for  it  had  excellent  proportions,  a phren- 
ologically  well-formed  skull,  and  all  the  teeth 
without  a single  gap.  Whatever  is  found  in  the 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


173 


park,  alive  or  dead,  should  be  used  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  place  ; and  so  I have  also  utilized  this 
dubious  find.  A grave  of  green  grass  with  a sim- 
ple stone  cross  has  been  made  for  this  skeleton. 
The  inscription  states  that  the  bones  of  the  un- 
known rest  under  the  cross,  and  from  the  bank 
near  it  the  eye  plunges  into  a wide  and  deep 
forest  ravine. 

Almost  the  whole  of  the  considerable  space 
which  is  taken  up  by  the  feudal  castle  buildings 
is  used  for  service ; only  the  detached  tower  with 
the  so-called  old  castle  is  arranged  for  the  use  of 
the  master.  Not  far  from  the  castle  Platz  is 
a narrow  plain  about  a mile  round,  used  to  make 
a little  race-course  with  “ obstacles,”  in  which  I 
have  taken  the  liberty  of  using  as  my  model, 
not  the  domestic  but  the  Irish  style,  which,  even 
for  the  best  riders  and  most  excellent  horses, 
present  real  obstacles ; as,  for  instance,  clay  banks 
six  feet  high  with  a ditch  beyond ; stone  walls 
five  feet  high,  woodpiles  and  ditches  twelve  and 
sixteen  feet  wide.  The  course  is  so  small  that 
one  can  see  all  the  evolutions  quite  distinctly 
from  the  amphitheater  in  the  middle,  which  is 
to  be  provided  with  three  rows  of  rising  seats 
which  are  to  be  dug  in  the  sides  of  the  hill;  and 
during  the  whole  race  one  need  never  lose  sight 
of  the  horses. 

This  is  the  utmost  point  of  to-day’s  excursion, 
from  which  we  return  to  the  castle  by  a road, 
marked  with  an  arrow  in  the  plan,  whose  ac- 
quaintance we  have  yet  to  make. 


174  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


During  this  drive  an  advantageous  view  is  dis- 
closed from  the  double  bridge  {ff)  of  the  mill 
{SS)  Plate  XXX),  and  at  the  end  one  may 
in  passing  cast  a glance  at  the  gay  colors  of  the 
blue  flower  gardens  (see  Plate  XXXI),  with  which 
we  take  our  farewell  of  all  the  park  and  garden 
scenes. 


SECOND  CARRIAGE  DRIVE 

Although  this  drive,  like  the  third  which  still 
confronts  the  reader,  covers  as  much  ground  as 
the  foregoing,  I may  say  that,  since  there  are 
fewer  objects  to  enumerate,  a shorter  description 
will  suffice. 

We  first  take  our  route  (follow  the  arrow) 
directly  to  the  guest  house,  an  extensive  estab- 
lishment, arranged  for  the  convenience  of  visitors, 
which  is  not  yet  finished.  This  short  piece  of 
road,  which  we  passed  yesterday,  but  from  the 
opposite  direction,  and  the  neighborhood  with  all 
its  views,  appears,  although  seen  from  the  same 
point,  a very  different  one,  on  account  of  the 
altered  direction. 

We  soon  find  ourselves  in  a new  domain  on 
the  western  hills,  which  stretches  along  the  town, 
climbs  the  steep  slope  behind  it,  and  then  pro- 
ceeds through  the  village  of  Berg,  through  fruit 
gardens,  until  we  reach  the  Wendish  farmhouse 
\hh)  called  “Sorgenfrei”  (Sans  Souci),  which  is 
built  quite  in  the  style  and  within  the  means  of 
a well-to-do  farm-owner  in  the  village.  From 
this  point  we  can  see  nearly  the  whole  park  spread 


Plate  XXX.  River  and  Mill 


I? 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


175 


out,  and  immediately  at  our  feet  we  can  overlook, 
as  on  a map,  high  above  the  roofs  of  the  town, 
the  streets  in  all  their  detail,  the  castle  (whose 
towers  do  not  rise  to  the  level  of  our  feet), 
the  lake  Lucie,  the  flower  gardens  with  the 
“pleasure-ground,”  and  now  the  sky  is  covered 
with  thick  clouds,  which  only  permit  a glimpse 
of  the  distance.  A little  garden  of  grass  and  fruit 
surrounds  the  house,  in  whose  precincts  stands 
the  ruins  of  the  oldest  church  in  the  Oberlausitz, 
for  the  upkeep  of  which  help  was  asked  in  Rome 
in  the  last  century.  Although  small,  from  an 
architectural  point  of  view  it  is  not  without  in- 
terest, and  is  very  picturesquely  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  old  churchyard  under  the  shade 
of  tall  limes.  (See  for  this  view  Plate  XXXII.) 

Even  in  my  grandfather’s  time  there  stood  on 
this  point  an  old  tree  surrounded  with  benches, 
to  make  the  most  of  this  pleasant  spot,  and 
it  often  serves  me,  I gladly  acknowledge,  as  a 
double  memento,  first  of  thanks  to  God,  who 
gave  me  the  sense  to  rejoice  as  a child  in  his 
sublime  works,  and  second,  in  recognition  of 
that  simplicity  which,  even  though  by  a con- 
ceited person  it  is  considered  only  momentarily, 
is  yet  the  condition  in  which  peaceful  happiness 
smiles  most,  and  from  which  evil  cares  stay  far- 
thest. The  road  along  this  whole  tour  was  very 
difficult  to  make,  as  the  many  ravines  and  deep 
bays  could  only  be  made  passable  by  bridges. 
Luckily  wood  here  is  cheap  and  superabundant, 
as  in  many  other  places  in  the  Fatherland.  With- 


176  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


out  this  convenience  the  completion  would  per- 
haps have  been  too  expensive  for  my  income. 
The  greater  part  of  this  plan  just  described  is 
planted  with  fruit  trees  only,  an  idea  which  I 
have  borrowed  from  Chief  Gardener  Lenne,  the 
carrying-out  of  which  certainly  gives  very  fine 
results  when  the  place  selected  is  suitable.  Here 
between  village  and  town,  and  extending  between 
the  gardens  of  both,  visible  in  the  far  distance 
from  the  valley,  there  was  no  course  more  prac- 
tical than  further  to  cover  with  masses  of  fruit 
trees  the  mountain  which  was  already  terraced 
and  skirted  with  fruit  trees,  so  that  in  summer 
the  bright  green  of  fine  grass  might  be  seen  shim- 
mering under  the  tree-stems.  But  since  the  shape 
of  most  fruit  trees  is  poor  and  ugly,  I have  tried 
to  amend  this  by  the  mixture  of  the  beautiful 
wild  apple  tree. 

From  the  fruit  plantation  we  arrive,  close  be- 
hind the  village,  at  the  upper  edge  of  a narrow 
valley,  whose  steep  sides  are  lined  with  old 
beeches,  and  where  here  and  there  the  headings 
and  shafts  of  the  alum  works  are  visible.  The 
road  then  turns  again  toward  the  plain  of  the 
mountain  projection  and  skirts  a little  wooded 
lake  near  the  village,  until,  in  a quarter  of  an 
hour,  we  reach  (//)  the  vineyard,  passing  by  sev- 
eral nice  cottages  of  the  hill  folk,  where,  above 
the  vineyards,  a very  wide  prospect  is  opened  on 
the  regions  of  Bautzen  and  Gorlitz.  In  the  mid- 
dle, the  highest  point  six  miles  off,  appearing 
singularly  isolated,  divides  the  horizon,  and  is 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


177 


surrounded  by  the  sea  of  forest  which  covers  the 
whole  region.  After  refreshments  at  the  vine- 
dresser’s hut,  we  follow  the  hillside  by  a zigzag 
drive  which  encloses  the  alum  works,  cross  the 
wooden  chute  by  which  the  ore  is  conveyed,  and 
maybe  alight  once  more  from  the  vehicle,  to  visit 
some  of  the  shafts,  which  are  illuminated  on  cer- 
tain days  during  the  bathing  season,  decorated 
with  colored  alum  crystals,  and  inspect  the  huts 
and  other  works  in  detail,  if  we  take  an  interest 
in  such  things. 

Nature  is  wild  here,  and  although  the  soil  is 
sandy  and  for  the  most  part  covered  with  firs,  it 
is  much  interspersed  with  colored  gravels,  black 
ore,  or  brown  coal  deposits  which  rise  to  the  sur- 
face, and  many  very  picturesque  aspects  are  shown 
in  the  precipitous,  abrupt  character  of  the  ground, 
which  seems  as  if  it  had  been  hurled  about  in 
an  earthquake.  We  even  find  in  one  spot  a sort 
of  small  volcano,  yet  not  an  artificial  one,  but  a 
fire  in  the  earth,  which  is  shown  by  a perpetual 
wreath  of  smoke  and  occasional  bursts  of  small 
flames  from  the  subterranean  glow  of  a brown 
coal  deposit,  causing  a good  deal  of  anxiety  to 
the  miners. 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  chaotically  torn 
strata,  directly  behind  the  foundries  are  the  gar- 
dens of  the  baths,  which  come  as  a pleasant  sur- 
prise with  their  wealth  of  roses. 

A convenient  drive  leads  from  the  “Kur- 
haus” (//)  round  an  extensive  “pleasure-ground” 
to  the  mineral  baths  [mm)^  the  moor  baths,  and 


178  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  lodgings  [nn),  and  many  promenades  to  the 
nearer  mountains.  Much  care  has  been  taken  to 
get  as  great  a contrast  as  possible  with  the  views 
of  the  regions  visited  yesterday  by  dwelling  on 
its  varied  and  rugged  character,  as  well  as  by 
introducing  new  subjects,  or  at  least  leading  to 
them  in  a new  direction. 

The  lover  of  free,  untrammeled  Nature  will 
therefore  be  most  pleased  with  this  region.  It 
will  be  easy  for  him  to  find  deepest  solitude  in 
dense  forest  and  glade,  where  there  is  nothing  to 
disturb  his  thoughts,  except  at  most  the  monot- 
onous tap  of  the  iron  hammer,  close  by  at  Keula, 
or  a more  gently  hammering  woodpecker,  or 
perhaps  the  sudden  apparition  of  a miner’s  black 
head,  which  appears  and  disappears  like  a ghost 
out  of  the  earth. 

The  “ pleasure-ground  ” here  is  also  treated 
quite  differently  from  that  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  castle.  Public  baths,  it  is  obvious,  have 
quite  other  requirements  than  those  which  are 
suited  to  a private  residence.  Shady  walks  and  a 
number  of  comfortable  and  roomy  resting-points 
are  here  specially  called  for,  as  well  as  a choice 
of  plants  whose  flowering  season  is  due  in  late 
summer,  the  principal  bathing  season.  A small 
flower  garden  is  on  the  right  of  the  “ Kurhaus,” 
and  is  enclosed  by  high  and  steep  bluffs,  which 
are  by  nature  so  rich  in  odd  formations  that  I 
hit  upon  the  contrivance  of  treating  them  in  the 
taste  of  an  Oriental  garden  with  various  brightly 
colored  pavilions  on  the  steep  and  sheer  heights. 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


179 


Isolated  as  it  is,  and,  as  I have  remarked,  sug- 
gesting, on  account  of  its  natural  peculiarities, 
an  original  treatment,  the  carrying-out  of  my 
plan  will  I hope  be  quite  appropriate,  especially 
as  in  grounds,  which  are  intended  for  the  gen- 
eral public,  something  to  suit  all  tastes  is  more 
of  a consideration  than  in  the  case  of  a decora- 
tive garden,  which  requires  a more  critical  ar- 
rangement. Already  and  without  much  assistance 
this  part  of  the  “ pleasure-ground  ” has  something 
exotic  about  it,  (Plate  XXXIII  shows  this  fin- 
ished on  the  map ; Plate  XXXIV  gives  a view 
of  the  whole  baths ; Plate  XXXV  the  view  from 
the  salon  of  the  moor  baths;  and  Plate  XXXVI, 
the  garden  of  the  pavilion  for  drinking  the 
waters  (00),  a little  place,  closed  all  round,  deco- 
rated only  with  baskets  of  centifolia  rose  and  a 
large  antique  camp  bench  with  hortensias  all 
round  it.) 

When  we  have  visited  all  these,  which  will 
occupy  some  hours,  we  get  into  the  carriage 
again,  and  follow  the  previous  drive  in  a long 
and  high  mountain  ravine,  where  we  meet  first 
a range  for  shooting  at  the  target,  and  farther 
on,  in  a wide  basin  formed  by  the  mountains 
around,  various  games  and  booths  [pp)  as  well 
as  an  open  race-course  and  a jumping  arrange- 
ment for  the  exercise  of  the  horses. 

We  then  continue  up  the  hill,  pass  a coal- 
works  and  a railway  which  leads  through  the 
galleries  of  the  mine  to  the  alum  huts,  and  en- 
joy from  the  height  another  wide  view,  of  which 


i8o  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


the  chief  point  is  the  ‘‘ Wussina,”  a deer  park, 
distant  a short  mile,  which  I shall  describe  more 
fully  later  on. 

After  this  beautiful  drive  completely  around 
the  bath  and  its  surroundings,  we  go  downhill 
and  leave  the  mining  region,  returning  along 
the  Neisse  and  passing  by  several  lodgings  in 
various  styles  for  the  bathers,  and  finally  reach 
the  castle.  Here,  as  one  can  see,  only  the  short 
stretch  of  road  used  yesterday  is  traveled : how- 
ever, because  we  come  from  the  opposite  direc- 
tion, we  get  different  views. 

THIRD  CARRIAGE  DRIVE 

It  is  impossible  to  deal  always  with  the  same 
material  without  becoming  somewhat  monoto- 
nous. Nevertheless,  for  the  exact  study  of  the 
plan  of  the  grounds,  a detailed  guide  is  indispen- 
sable to  the  reader.  All  that  I can  do  to  lighten 
the  task  is  to  strike  a middle  course  which,  with- 
out boring  him  too  mercilessly,  should  put  him 
in  a position  to  work  out  the  whole  in  his  own 
mind  with  the  help  of  the  plans. 

Our  “ trip  ” this  time  begins  where  the  drive 
of  the  first  day  left  off  (follow  the  arrow),  and 
after  passing  the  inevitable  short  portion  of  the 
road  taken  already,  but  this  time  in  the  opposite 
direction,  we  reach  a region  which  was  only 
seen  in  previous  days  at  a distance  and  cursorily, 
near  the  great  Neisse  bridge.  We  drive  for  some 
time  along  a dam  between  the  river  and  some 
tall  oaks,  until  we  climb  the  Lucknitzer  Hill, 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


i8i 


where  a belvedere  [pp]  has  been  built.  (See 
Plate  XXXVII.)  The  extended  drive  along  the 
ridge  of  the  mountain  embraces  the  real  Neisse 
Valley  with  the  fields  and  meadows  of  the  town 
burghers,  which  lie  at  the  foot  of  the  high  alum 
mountains  and  through  which  the  river  runs  in 
sharp  curves. 

The  six  towers  of  the  little  town  appear  from 
this  place  so  high  and  so  distant  from  one  another 
that  a stranger  might  think  he  was  entering  a 
big  town.  This  view  gradually  disappears  behind 
the  hills,  and  next  we  enter  a young  deciduous 
woods  with  no  distant  view,  which  takes  half  an 
hour  to  cross  by  a lonesome  road,  until  we  reach 
the  highest  plateau  in  the  park,  where  at  a sharp 
turn  of  the  road  the  wide  country  and  the  whole 
chain  of  mountains,  from  the  snow  summits  to 
the  most  easterly  of  the  Bautzner  Range,  lies 
before  us,  embracing  half  the  horizon.  The  fore- 
ground is  formed  of  dark  spruce  forest  and  the 
projecting  pinnacles  of  the  “Burg.”  Here  an  ob- 
servatory has  been  planned.  On  the  other  side  are 
meadows  gradually  shelving  away,  and  coupled 
with  other  enclosures,  together  with  the  large 
race-course  intended  for  racing  country  horses 
and  the  ancient  buildings  of  the  stud  (rr).  (See 
Plate  XXXVIII.) 

The  road  from  here  leads  through  pasture 
grounds,  partly  also  through  loosely  connected 
woods  in  which  the  acacia  dominates,  and  in  a 
short  time  reaches  the  above-mentioned  stud, 
which  offers  no  interest  except  to  a horse-lover. 


1 82  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


We  will,  therefore,  not  linger  any  time  here,  but 
lead  the  reader  quickly  to  the  “ Burg  ” farm  by 
the  meadow,  where  a model  farm  was  not  sought, 
but  only  a good  income.  Model  farms  are  no 
doubt  of  much  public  benefit,  yet  are  in  them- 
selves only  sacrifices  to  others  whereby  satisfac- 
tory results  can  be  achieved  only  by  means  of 
extremely  costly  experiments,  which  are  then 
imitated  by  one’s  neighbors  without  further  test 
expense,  and  hence  they  are  the  only  ones  to 
profit  by  them.  Now,  since  the  artistic  purpose 
of  my  grounds  occasioned  quite  sufficient  outlay, 
I found  myself  compelled  to  limit  my  endeavors 
to  the  establishment  of  a model  park,  whose 
results,  of  course,  as  I cannot  deny,  would  not 
bring  in  so  much  money  as  the  lessons  of  model 
economy. 

With  these  observations,  dear  reader,  we  have 
arrived  at  the  sheep  farm  (rr),  whose  high-bred 
sheep  I was  for  two  years  compelled  to  degrade 
on  account  of  the  unfavorable  wool  idea  of  that 
time ; that  is,  to  make  them  more  lucrative  by 
a coarser  but  richer  wool  crop.  We  come  next 
to  the  large  race-course  (//),  the  use  of  which  I 
intend  shortly  to  offer  to  the  “National  Asso- 
ciation for  Breeding  Fine  Horses.”  It  is  half  a 
German  mile  long,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
broad,  with  plenty  of  room  for  lookers-on,  and 
forms  a large  oval,  the  interior  of  which  is  di- 
vided into  seven  separate  fields,  each  planted  with 
different  fruit  trees.  From  the  heights  this  pre- 
sents the  view  of  a colossal  star. 


The  Park  in  Moskau 


•83 


From  the  “stands,”  which  are  erected  on  a 
high  point,  one  overlooks  the  whole  course  as 
well  as  a romantic  region,  with  some  small  lakes. 
Stables  for  the  horses  “in  training”  and  all  the 
other  requisites  will  be  furnished  close  by.  One 
of  the  above  lakes  will  serve  a purpose  of  a 
peculiar  character.  It  will  be  planted,  including 
its  islands,  with  a mass  of  weeping  willows,  and 
quarried  rocks  scattered  about,  inscribed  with  the 
names  of  dear  departed  ones  in  silent  memory 
{uu).  The  race-course  at  one  point  passes  close 
by  this  lake  of  mourning,  where  at  the  same 
moment  one  may  look  down  as  into  a hollow  at 
the  race-horse  in  his  joyous  flight  and  upon  the 
monuments  of  those  who  now  repose  so  deeply 
and  whose  race  on  this  earth  has  forever  been 
run.  The  large  nursery  from  which  the  greater 
part  of  the  park  was  planted  might  also  be 
thought  worth  our  attention  as  we  pass  {vv). 
The  neighboring  lake  yields  the  needful  water, 
which,  however,  is  sparely  used  for  watering,  in 
order  to  harden  the  young  plants  from  the  be- 
ginning, for  which  reason  also  a soil  of  only 
medium  quality  was  selected.  From  the  race- 
course the  road  leads  to  the  Gobelin  colony,  a 
collection  of  cottages  of  various  shapes,  which 
we  have  already  mentioned  [bb').  (See  Plate 
XXXIX.)  They  are  mostly  inhabited  by  the 
garden  laborers,  and  are  scattered  on  a height, 
with  a few  old  oaks,  which  may,  perhaps,  be 
several  centuries  old.  Among  them  a few  years 
ago  a small  treasure  was  found,  buried  probably 


184  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


at  the  time  of  the  Thirty  Years’  War,  of  which 
I have  kept  several  coins.  This  is  the  only  treas- 
ure which  I can  boast  of  having  found  with  all 
my  rummaging  in  the  earth ; on  the  other  hand, 
that  treasure  has  not  failed  me  which  the  father 
bequeathed  to  his  son  when  he  urged  him  to 
dig  for  it  round  his  vineyard,  and  I therefore 
recommend  the  same  experiment  to  every  land- 
owner. 

We  return  to  the  castle  past  the  village  of 
Kobeln  (ww),  which  also  is  inhabited  only  by 
garden  laborers,  along  the  Neisse,  by  a road  on 
which,  for  the  greater  part,  we  have  not  driven 
before.  I must  remark  once  more  that  we  are 
driving  in  the  opposite  direction  from  that  part 
of  the  road  with  which  we  are  already  familiar, 
in  order  to  lay  stress  on  the  fact  that,  with  all 
our  various  drives  and  crossings  during  these 
days,  we  have  never  seen  exactly  the  same  pic- 
ture repeated,  and  yet  have  touched  at  all  the 
chief  points,  and  have  omitted  rtothing  but  those 
manifold  details  which  require  too  much  time, 
those  never-ending  variations  of  the  inexhaus- 
tible music  of  Nature,  which  are  only  quite 
discoverable  in  all  their  nuances  by  the  sturdy 
pedestrian.* 

' I need  hardly  point  out  that  in  the  present  disposition  of  the 
grounds,  if  the  three  carriage  drives  are  made  entirely  in  the  opposite 
direction  from  that  here  described,  an  almost  wholly  new  series  of  dif- 
ferent views  must  be  presented,  although  they  are  formed  out  of  the 
same  materials,  as  also  quite  different  views  may  be  obtained  by  short 
cuts  which  I have  not  described.  If  we  add  the  footpaths  as  well,  eight 
days  would  be  necessary  to  know  the  park  from  end  to  end. 


Plate  XXXIX.  The  Gobelin  Colony:  Cottages  of  the  Garden  Laborers 


■ vsa 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


185 


Although  the  description  of  the  park  ends 
here,  a few  words  are  due  concerning  more  re- 
mote questions  which  are  connected  with  the 
subject.  As  I have  the  great  advantage  of  exten- 
sive and  connected  territories,  and  as  no  advan- 
tage should  be  neglected,  I have  attempted  to 
utilize  it  in  the  following  manner : — 

A mile  southeast  of  Muskau,  toward  the  Si- 
lesian Mountains,  I laid  out  a park  for  wild  deer 
with  a villa  and  huntsman’s  hut ; and  in  a south- 
easterly direction,  at  a distance  of  two  miles,  a 
larger  park  for  stags  and  wild  boars.  The  foun- 
dation for  this  last  was  afforded  by  an  old  hunt- 
ing and  pleasure  castle,  where  for  centuries  plenty 
of  game  was  sacrificed  to  the  hunting  nobility. 
Both  parks  are  connected  by  twin  roads,  going 
to  and  fro,  which  are  reserved  for  the  owners 
alone  and  never  leave  my  land,  and  lead  through 
the  most  interesting  portion  of  the  country,  con- 
nected with  the  castle  park,  so  that  one  may  pro- 
long the  drives  already  described  in  one  or  other 
of  these  places  for  the  whole  day,  if  one  wishes. 
A fifth  road,  besides,  has  been  projected,  for  di- 
rect connection  between  the  two  parks  for  wild 
animals,  which  will  lead  unbroken  for  several 
miles  through  the  main  woods,  and  which,  as 
the  chronicles  mention,  borders  the  royal  graves 
and  Swantewit’s  hills  of  sacrifice.  I have  at- 
tempted to  restore,  in  the  form  of  sacrificial 
altars,  some  grotesque  stone  forms  found  during 
excavation. 

The  first  grounds  laid  out,  which  I have  al- 


1 86  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


lowed  to  retain  the  former  Wendish  name  “ Wus- 
sina”  (Wilderness),  consists  mostly  of  deciduous 
trees,  up  to  a very  wild  part  covered  with  tall  firs, 
which  has  been  given  the  name  of“  Wolf’s  Lair,” 
in  honor  of  the  huntsmen.  Occasionally  we  make 
the  place  resound  at  midnight  with  the  Devil 
music  of  Weber,  which  has  a doubly  gruesome 
effect  in  these  appropriate  surroundings.  A forest 
stream  flows  through  the  Wussina,  and  into  the 
Neisse,  which  bounds  two  sides  of  the  grounds. 
The  third  boundary  is  formed  by  a broad  road 
and  a low  fence,  which  the  deer  can  easily  leap, 
as  they  do  not  thrive  in  fenced-in  grounds,  for, 
although  one  of  the  most  delicate  of  beasts,  the 
gentle  deer,  it  seems,  can  least  of  all  endure  loss 
of  freedom.  The  terrain  is  very  mountainous, 
and  lonely  forest  ravines,  with  deep  meadow 
valleys  at  the  foot  and  various  views  toward  the 
“ Riesengebirge  ” from  the  higher  portions,  make 
up  the  chief  characteristics  of  these  grounds.  (See 
Plate  XL.) 

A quite  different  character,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  shown  in  the  large  deer  park,  a district  for- 
merly enclosed  by  a high  fence,  which  it  takes 
six  to  eight  hours  to  circuit.  The  enclosure  has  re- 
cently been  pulled  down  by  my  orders  and  simple 
canals  substituted;  partly  because  with  such  an 
accumulation  of  game  I lost  too  much  from  the 
poachers,  who  became  very  bold  in  consequence 
of  the  light  punishment  which  was  imposed  when 
they  were  caught ; partly  because  I found  that 
wild  animals  in  a confined  space  degenerated  very 


Plate  XL.  View  from  the  Wussina  Deer  Park,  Moskau 


1 

1 

1 

:i 


V 


) 

1 


7 


4 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


187 


much,  becoming  smaller,  leaner,  and  less  tasty, 
and  also  too  tame,  almost  like  the  fallow  deer 
which  in  England  resemble  flocks  of  sheep.  Be- 
sides, game  can  be  kept  together  in  certain  dis- 
tricts without  fencing,  by  appropriate  fodder  and 
other  practical  means  without  hermetically  seal- 
ing them  from  other  pastures,  and  letting  them 
pine  and  deteriorate  in  depressing  captivity.  An 
experience  of  fifteen  years  has  quite  convinced  me 
on  this  point." 

It  was  singular  that  two  of  my  most  opulent 
neighbors  began  to  lay  out  fenced  deer  parks  at 
the  very  time  when  I had  my  own  fences  pulled 
down.  They  had  taken  fifteen  years  to  make  up 
their  minds  to  imitate  me.  I have  no  doubt  that 
fifteen  years  later  they  will  again  follow  me,  for 
every  one  likes  to  become  wise  by  his  own  expe- 
rience. 

The  park  lies  quite  in  the  plain,  and  presents 
merely  an  endless  wooded  tract  with  very  few 
elevations,  but  is  remarkable  for  its  very  fine  old 
timber,  mostly  oaks,  spruces,  and  pines  of  unusual 
size.  The  latter,  with  their  tall,  smooth  trunks, 
sometimes  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  are 
more  like  the  pines  of  Italy  than  our  common 
and  picturesque  kinds. 

But  what  makes  this  wood  so  fresh  and  de- 

• To  prevent  the  liberals  from  falling  on  me  on  account  of  this,  I may 
inform  them  that  out  of  consideration  for  the  farmers  I hold  only  a third 
of  the  game  which  the  law  permits,  in  proportion  to  the  area,  which 
contains  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  acres,  and  that  I let  them 
have  wood  free  besides,  to  enable  them  to  fence  their  own  fields  wher- 
ever there  are  gaps. 


1 88  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


lightful,  and  gives  it  a particular  charm,  is  the 
almost  unbroken  carpet  of  huckleberries,  cran- 
berries, ferns,  and  wild  rosemary  which  densely 
cover  the  ground.  The  bright  green  and  shining 
leaf  of  the  huckleberries,  alternating  continually 
with  fern,  is  undoubtedly  preferable  in  a wood  to 
the  finest  lawn,  and  certainly  cannot  be  artificially 
created  in  such  lusty  growth ; nay,  even  where 
these  plants  were  taken  away  in  former  times  for 
litter,  they  have  never  grown  again  in  the  shade. 
It  seems  that  more  than  a man’s  lifetime  is  re- 
quired before  large  stretches  become  richly  clad 
with  them.  This  deer  park,  the  castle  of  which 
contains  plenty  of  room  for  many  hunting  guests, 
is  used  as  head  rendezvous  for  stag,  boar,  and  roe 
hunting.  The  most  interesting  hunting  for  many, 
however,  is  heathcock  shooting;  growing  else- 
where rarer  every  year,  it  can  still  be  enjoyed 
here  in  great  abundance.  Indeed,  one  may  hear 
from  thirty  to  forty  birds  “calling”  simultane- 
ously in  the  territory  of  the  park.  For  this  sport 
one  must  rise  very  early,  and  as  city  folk  are 
averse  to  this,  the  following  plan  of  mine  met 
with  much  appreciation:  One  drives  from  Mus- 
kau  at  midnight  by  torchlight  through  the  woods, 
one  of  the  cheapest  as  well  as  most  agreeable 
methods  of  illuminating,  then  spends  the  rest  of 
the  time  blowing  the  reveille  at  the  hunting 
castle,  and  immediately  afterwards  “beats  up” 
the  heathcock,  as  it  is  called  in  hunting  terms. 
In  this  manner  ladies  could  frequently  take  part, 
and  on  their  account  I may  be  excused  for  men- 


Plate  XLI.  Spruce  Tree  in  Muskau  Park 
One  Hundred  Feet  High 


Plate  XLII.  Oak  Tree  in  Muskau  Park 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


1 89 

tioning  this  detail,  which  is  hardly  pertinent  to 
the  matter. 

For  stalking  other  game  ten  or  twelve  differ- 
ent tracks  have  been  made,  which  also  lead  to 
the  finest  parts  of  the  wood.  These  are  divided 
among  the  guests  strictly  as  their  temporary  prop- 
erty, so  that  each  one  may  make  use  only  of  the 
one  designated  for  him,  and  is  certain,  therefore, 
to  avoid  any  accident  on  it.  The  huntsmen  would 
consider  it  a very  unbecoming  intrusion  on  the 
rights  of  the  others  if  anybody  refused  to  abide 
by  this  rule.  Therefore,  the  possessor  may  be  cer- 
tain day  and  night  of  being  able  to  follow  his 
pleasure,  comme  il  V entend.  I owe  this  contrivance, 
as  practical  as  it  is  pleasant,  to  the  kindly  assist- 
ance of  Herr  Oberforstmeister  and  Professor 
Pfeil  in  Berlin,  after  whom  one  of  these  laby- 
rinthine, serpentine  paths  is  even  now  called  the 
“ Pfeilstrasse.” 

Here  there  is  such  a number  of  splendid  trees 
that  I could  not  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of 
having  two  of  them  portrayed.  Plate  XLI  rep- 
resents a spruce  tree  standing  alone,  only  one 
hundred  feet  high,  it  is  true,  but  from  which 
masses  of  needles  hang  down  from  the  lowest 
branches  to  the  length  of  seven  feet.  I once  had 
it  illuminated  with  paper  lanterns  in  the  form 
of  colossal  fruits  like  a Christmas  tree,  such  a 
Christmas  tree  as  perhaps  has  never  been  seen 
elsewhere.  Plate  XLII  shows  a remarkably 
shaped  oak,  eighty-five  feet  high,  with  a cir- 
cumference of  the  trunk  of  twenty-four  feet  one 


190  Hints  on  Landscape  Gardening 


ell  (yard)  above  the  earth.  The  strongest  branches 
are  nine  feet  in  circumference. 

The  last  plate,  XLIV,  gives  a view  of  my  cot- 
tage in  the  garden  of  the  hunting  castle,  a quiet, 
secluded  spot,  whence  I bid  a hearty  farewell  to 
the  amiable  reader,  if  he  has  held  out  so  far  with 
this  dry  matter,  sincerely  hoping  that  my  small 
efforts  may  have  been  of  some  service  to  those 
who  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  same  hobby, 
and  also  that  I have  drawn  the  attention  of  others 
to  an  occupation  which  perhaps  has  appeared  to 
them  in  too  subordinate  a light.  For  when  once 
the  landowner  has  begun  to  idealize  his  prop- 
erty, he  will  soon  become  aware  that  cultivation 
of  the  soil  will  secure  for  him  not  only  pecuniary 
advantage,  but  also  real  artistic  delight,  and  how 
thankful  Nature  is  to  him  who  dedicates  his 
powers  with  love.  So  then,  if  each  one  does  his 
best  for  his  own  tirelessly  and  thoroughly,  and 
the  thousand  facets  combine  easily  and  well  to 
form  one  ring,  the  lovable  dream  of  the  St.  Si- 
monians  might  become  true  of  a universal  cult 
of  our  mother  earth.  For  this  purpose,  however, 
it  would  be  well  to  turn  aside  a little  from  these 
sad  politics,  which  absorb  everything  and  give  so 
little  in  return,  and  revert  a little  more  to  happy 
art,  whose  service  is  in  itself  a reward ; since  for 
the  ruling  of  the  State  we  cannot  all  strive.  But 
to  seek  to  improve  himself  and  his  property  is 
in  the  power  of  each  one  of  us,  and  it  is  even  a 
question  whether  in  such  a simple  manner,  in 
honest  and  homely  endeavor,  the  so-much-de- 


Plate  XLIV.  Cottage  near  the  Hunting  Castle 


The  Park  in  Muskau 


191 


sired  freedom  may  not  be  attained  with  more 
calm  and  safety  than  by  the  many  experiments 
in  superficial  theoretic  forms  of  State.  For  he 
only  can  be  free  who  commands  himself. 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Index 


Architecture  in  connection  with 
landscape  design,  32-33. 

Ashridge,  38. 

Bautzner  Range,  181. 

Blumenbach,  9. 

Braunsdorf,  127. 

Brown,  landscape  architect,  29. 

Buckingham  Palace,  70. 

Buried  treasure,  183-84. 

Buxus  (Box),  71. 

Cattle  in  parks,  19-21,  26. 

Chiswick,  71. 

Claude  Lorrain,  22. 

Comparison  of  landscape  art 
with  that  of  the  actor,  the 
architect,  and  the  musician, 
117-18. 

Cultivation  of  grass  land,  55,  56, 

57- 

Cutting  down  trees,  59. 

Deciduous  trees,  how  to  be  used, 
28-29. 

Deer,  maintenance  of,  186-87. 

Distant  view,  treatment  of,  27, 30. 

Drainage,  50-51. 

Eaton  Hall,  38. 

Employment  of  trees  around 
buildings,  33-34. 

England,  35. 

Evergreen  trees,  how  to  be  used, 
28,  29,  74. 

Farm,  model,  182. 

Fern,  188. 


Fichte,  105. 

Fir,  28. 

Flower  beds,  45,  73. 

Flower  garden,  178,  179. 

French  parterre,  33. 

Garden,  true  function  of,  22. 
Garden  art,  true  principle,  22; 
of  France,  22; 
of  Romans,  22; 
of  Switzerland,  22. 
Gardener's  Magazine,  35. 
Gardens,  design,  definition  of, 
42,  74. 

German  landscape  gardening, 
criticism,  of,  1-7. 

Gobelin  colony,  183. 

Goethe,  34. 

Gothic  building,  33,  34,  42. 
Grasses,  49-54;  S^S7- 

Ha-ha  ditch,  27,  43. 

Harmony  of  colors  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  69. 

Holly,  71. 

Huckleberries,  188. 

Italy  of  the  Renaissance,  33. 

Juniper,  28. 

Kobeln  village,  184. 

Lake  in  St.  James’s  Park,  design 
of,  91. 

Landscape  gardening,  English, 
criticism  of,  3-7,  19-20,  126. 
Laurel,  71. 


196 


Index 


Lawns,  43-44. 

Lenne,  landscape  architect,  7, 176. 
Lilacs,  76. 

Lombard  poplars,  33,  66,  79. 

Malahide,  37. 

Memorial  Lake,  184. 

Michael  Angelo,  18. 

Mistakes,  treatment  of,  14-16. 
Moss  under  trees,  53. 

Mountains,  Oberlausitz,  120; 

Silesian,  120. 

Muck  or  humus,  49. 

Muskau,  15. 

Nash,  Wm.,  71,  72,  73,  91. 
Nature,  117. 

Neisse  Valley,  127,  180. 

Oaks,  187. 

Pantheon,  18. 

Park  design,  definition  of,  13, 
42,  60. 

Parks,  English,  19. 

Paths,  74. 

Pine,  28,  33,  120,  187. 

Plans,  of  parks  and  garden,  16-17. 
Planting  trees,  60-66. 


Pleasure-grounds,  19,  39,  178. 
Prussia,  21. 

Piickler,  fitness  to  teach  “ art  of 
gardening,”  7-9. 

Raphael,  170. 

Regent’s  Park,  91. 

Repton,  9,  36,  91. 

Rhododendron,  71. 

Roads,  construction  of,  86-89; 

design,  81-85. 

Rousseau,  40. 

St.  James’s  Park,  91. 

St.  Peter’s  at  Rome,  18,  171. 
Shrubberies,  75. 

Site  of  building,  31-35. 

Spruce,  28,  33,  187,  189. 
Symbolic  expression  in  landscape 
design,  34,  35. 

Temples,  34,  42. 

Warwick  Castle,  37. 

Weber,  186. 

Windsor  Park,  70. 

Wussina,  186. 

Yew,  28. 


(®he  BitoEtiBibe  preiä.f 

CAMBRIDGE  . MASSACHUSETTS 
U . S . A 


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